He of Frost and She of Sun
by Willowleaf the Jedi
Summary: It has been a year since the great war against Gaea, and as tensions began to disappear in Camp Half-Blood, an odd and out of place prophecy brings along the coming of the newest demigod, Jay Swift. Her odd parentage alerts the Guardians, and they send Jack Frost to spy on the demigods. Will Jay and Jack's worlds collide?
1. The Ad that Ruined my Life

Chapter one: The Ad that Ruined my Life

Jay's POV:  
It's not my fault.  
Seriously.  
I never wanted to be the only living daughter of Helios. I never wanted to meet Jack _freaking_ Frost either! (OK. Maybe I did, but that's not the point.)

I still don't know who to blame. We were never sure who the prophecy came from-either Man in Moon or the Fates- and we probably will never know. Jack believes it's from Man in Moon. I think it's from Aphrodite. I'm not really sure why.

But I'm only wasting your time with my prophecy talk. I'll just start the story.

* * *

I may as well of been dead.  
It was early October here in New York, but for some reason I was freezing cold. _Jack Frost is trolling me,_ I thought. Then I cursed myself for my childishness, something I've probably been doing ever since I was 12. Now I'm 17. And I _still_ think about Jack Frost.

If you think I believe in Jack Frost, well, there is no non-embarrassing way to say this, but yeah. I do. Feel free to laugh! Not. Seriously- don't. My life sucks as it is. Want an example of why I hate my life? OK then! (That was sarcastic)

My mom is dead. She has been ever since I was 10, when she had a heart attack. Ever since then, I've been homeless. Yup. I had friends, and possibly a bright future, but I lost all that. Sad, right? Oh yeah, and my dad? Long gone. My mom didn't even remember his first name. There are no pictures of him anywhere in our old apartment. But enough about them and back to the present, and me.

I was currently sitting on an old park bench, somewhere in the middle of Brooklyn. A strange looking old Italian lady was sitting beside me, feeding pigeons. She smelled like gasoline. Despite her smell, I had been following her for the past week. She was my cover up from the police. The way I saw it was that the police would ignore a petty old lady and her _supposed_ grandchild. Smart, right?

She was humming something weird, like Simon and Garfunkel. Her frizzy jet black hair stood up on several directions, scaring me. _I wouldn't be surprised if she could intimidate the police…_ then, I noticed the billboard. It was one of those high tech ones, the ones that had ads that changed a lot. I had seen it several times, with its large ever changing ads. But this particular ad had always ticked me off…

It was an ad for Good Life Fitness. I never really understood the ad, but it always got me mad. They apparently thought you could live a good life by working out. "Dumb ad. I've been running for at least half my life. That's my exercise. And you say it's a good thing to be homeless?" I muttered some curses _. I_ _can't live a freaking good life without a family or money, dammit!_

Before I could go up there and give the billboard a piece of my mind, the breeze blue hard. It blew straight through my sweatshirt. I shivered. Oh yeah. About the Jack Frost thing…  
when I was young, my mom used to tease me and say Jack Frost liked me, because I would always be cold at the weirdest times. Like in the summer, when people are usually half- _naked,_ you would see me still wearing sweatshirts. And in the winter, I can barely wriggle my toes. It's like my body has no protection in the cold, which results in me almost freezing in the winter.

Ever since my mom started teasing me about that, I had always wondered who Jack Frost _was_. I searched him up on a computer, and got about a dozen webpages and articles for my pleasure. I read all of them. So despite the fact that I get cold easily, I still liked the concept of Jack Frost being a real immortal being.

My long, dark brown hair flew in the breeze. I couldn't help but scowl. When was the last time I had brushed my hair, or gotten a haircut? "If I do somehow find my ticket out of this awful excuse for a life, I'm gonna cut my hair so that it at least _looks_ like hair, and not a legit rat's nest." I muttered to my worn out black Converse. My hands drifted to the pockets of my red sweatshirt to evade the breeze that was currently nipping my nose.

Then, I heard the sirens. I glanced again at the billboard, and realized the ad had shifted. It showed a Wanted poster (Since when was that still a thing?). I gasped and leaped to my feet. It showed a picture of _me_. Jay Swift. I couldn't be bothered to glance at the poster/ad again. I abandoned my old lady, dashing through the cluster of pigeons. They squawked, and the lady shouted something to me in Italian. Then she started trying to throw bird seeds at me, but only hit the pigeons. Her arms were weak.

I scowled and tore off into the busy streets of Brooklyn. Despite my speed, the cops were catching up. I wanted to scream. My legs felt wobbly, like jelly. It was like the cold was zapping up my strength… I tripped face first into the asphalt. I felt a jolt go through my mouth and reverberate in my teeth, and I spat onto the ground. I stood up, coughing up blood and one of my front teeth. I swore loud enough that the people in China probably heard me. I glanced back over my shoulder, and the cop car was approaching fast. I scooped up my bloody tooth and continued to run. I could still feel the aching pain in my jaw.

I turned into an alleyway, where the car couldn't drive in. I shoved the tooth in my sweater pocket and slowly began scaling a Wal-Mart wall. How I ended up in a Wal-Mart, I have no clue. I don't really care, I just had to escape _. And_ find a washroom and wash my mouth.

The siren sound died down. _Thank god for Wal-Mart!_ I thought. I was about to climb off the roof when I saw something flying in the corner of my eye. I whipped my head around, and almost fainted. I scrambled backwards, watching the… the thing land in front of me. I cried out. I should of climbed down while I still had the chance…

It was a jet black horse with wings. On its back sat two boys. A gothic looking one and a blonde. The blonde glanced at me. The corners of his mouth began to twitch. Meanwhile, the Goth was looking down, as if he wanted nothing to do with me. I would've found that offensive, but _I_ looked at people like that a lot.

The blonde boy hopped off the… Pegasus. It was a Pegasus. I jumped up, suddenly remembering myself. I was supposed to be as feared as possible! "Who are you people?" I asked fiercely. But instead of looking intimidated, I noticed the Goth boy was glancing at me, giving me a ghost of an encouraging smile. The handsome blonde was full-on smiling. He stuck out his hand, like he was greeting a grandma, not a teenage girl with a missing tooth. "I'm Will. Will Solace. The other kid is Nico." He paused to glance back at Nico. Then he turned back to me. "And you are?"

I wanted to sock him, but I held out my blood stained hand. "I'm Jay." I muttered. He shook my hand, surprisingly. _Why would he shake my hand if it was covered in blood?_ Then, as if magic, he pulled a water bottle from his grey pants pocket. He tossed it to me as I stood up. I caught it with a shaky hand and unscrewed the cap cautiously. "I think you need this more than we do," he said.

I downed the water gratefully, and then washed my mouth, letting the taste of blood disappear. "Thanks," I said to him quietly, almost forgetting he had a Pegasus and was a complete stranger. Not to mention Nico had a black blade at his belt-WAIT WHAT? He glanced back at me. "Why are you here? On a roof, I mean?" he asked. I felt a stirring in my gut as I realized the Pegasus again. "Can you please explain the winged horse first?" I asked.

Will just chuckled, as if this was a common question. "This is BlackJack. I borrowed him from my friend, Percy." I blinked. Nico's face was contorted with worry, and his glance flitted at Will and back to me. He hopped off the Pegasus, who snorted. I could swear he said _donuts_.

I realized how short and sickly he was; he had to be at least 15. He tugged on Will's sleeve. The two bickered for a few seconds, and I tried not to eavesdrop. But of course, they were only a metre in front of me.  
"Why are you telling her this?" Nico whispered furiously.  
"She's the one we're looking for!" Will replied.  
By then, my impatience and curiosity got the better of me. I coughed loudly, getting their attention. Will gave her a handsome smile. "Sorry about that Jay. Um… I just have to ask you this, but, did you ever know your father?"

The question hit me in my heart. And my brain. "Why do you wanna know?" My social barriers were building up around me again. Will just sighed. "I have a lot of explaining to do." He murmured to himself. He adjusted the sleeves of his t-shirt, and I noticed a look in his eyes. Almost… nervous? But then it disappeared and Will returned to his supposed perky self. "OK Jay, have you ever heard of... demigods?"

* * *

Jack's POV:

It's been a while, hasn't it?  
It's been like, what. Three years since you believed in me?  
But here I am, at North's workshop. You can see me, freezing the Kangaroo's Easter eggs to the ground with my staff. See me? Of course you do!

My hands tingled with excitement. It had been a while since I've been doing fun stuff like this. Ever since I became a Guardian, I mean.  
"Oh, good ol' kangaroo is gonna _love_ this…" I whispered. I tried puncturing one of the eggs with my staff, as a tester. It was frozen solid and glued to the ground. The elves around me began to giggle in excitement. I flitted around childishly, doing a little happy dance in the air. This was gonna be _hilarious…_

Suddenly, I heard an alarm go off. North was calling me and the rest of the guardians (Or is it the guardians and I?) to a meeting. I groaned and flew out of the room to join the rest of them. "This better be important," I said aloud to a random elf as I passed by him. He nodded in agreement as he messed around with some Christmas lights.

I barged through the gigantic doors to our meeting place. The other guardians were already assembled around the large globe as I hovered down to sit between Tooth and Sandman with my usual _'laid back vibe'_. Bunny faced me with a sneer. "OK _Snowman._ What'd ya do this time?" he asked. He had clearly noticed the huge grin on my face. I just continued to smile, so I could get him to act up even more. No words needed.

The glare receded from Bunny's face when North pounded his fists down on a table. The other guardians looked startled. I was still the only one used to Santa. To be fair, I loved messing with big dudes like him. I _had_ been on the naughty list for the longest time…

The room remained silent, except for the constant buzz of baby teeth around Tooth. I swear I could hear her say someone had just lost their tooth in New York, a teenager. A dozen of them flitted off somewhere to do her bidding, but one stayed behind, one of my good friends. I broke the almost-silence with a happy exclamation of the name, "Baby Tooth!" The cute hummingbird creature flitted up to me excitedly and perched in my hair. Tooth supressed a small "Awww…"

But then North pounded his fists on the table again. Baby Tooth squeaked something and buried herself into my frosty hair. I chuckled inwardly and reached out to grab her. I nestled her in my hand, and she squeaked happily. I watched North with a smirk. "Easy big guy. You scared Baby Tooth here," I said, tickling her feather-clad stomach.

North snorted unbelievably. "I don't have time for that, Jack. We have bigger matters on our hands."  
Bunny snorted. "I bet those matters are based off of _Snowman_ over here." he muttered with a wave of his hand, gesturing at Jack.  
North nodded. "Eh… They sort of are."

I leaped up in annoyance. " _Santa!_ " I whined in complaint. Since when did all matters have something to do with me?  
North spread his hands in apology. "It's not my fault young man. It's _your_ fault."  
I swung my staff over my shoulder. "I don't get you, Santa." I said as I drifted back down to my seat and motioned for North to explain furthermore.

North leaned back into his chair and folded his hands together. "Well don't just sit there! Tell me what I did!" I exclaimed. North sighed impatiently. "Your impatience and antics annoy me. But this is life." He muttered. Bunny snickered in agreement. North shook his head. "Look Jack. I am sure you are aware of the tales of Greek Mythology, right?"

"Uh huh," I said. "Like, you mean all those gods and monsters?" The others nodded. Tooth was still smiling. I could tell they had a whole other meeting about me, probably determining my fate. But what did _my_ fate have to do with Greek Myths? North snapped me back into reality with another pound of his fists. If I had fifty cents for _every_ time he did that…

"Look Frost. I don't really know any easy way of saying this, but-"  
"They're real," finished Bunny as he examined the tip of his boomerang. "True and everything. Living in New York, somewhere off of Long Island Sound." Sandman, who hadn't said a word (naturally), glanced at me worriedly, as if expecting I was going to faint.

But I just snorted as I twirled my staff lazily. "YEAH. _I know._ There's a camp of their children. Demigods. I've tried giving them snow days, but they have some weird magic protecting them or something." I was met by an awkward silence and glanced up hesitantly. I met eyes with North, who was gawking at me. Everybody seemed surprised, except for Sandy.

Tooth leaned towards North and whispered, "He's taking it better than we thought." Now was my time to snort again. "Being a winter spirit has its perks. I know a lot about the world!" I explained.

Santa began to chuckle. Soon he was laughing uproariously, slamming his hand down onto the table, startling a dozen Baby Teeth and elves, and not to mention two Yeti's. "Frost!" he exclaimed, sounding downright jolly. "Frost, you are PERFECT!" I gulped, floating up to the air to perch up on the large globe of glowing dots. My feet were in Hawaii, and my butt was in Canada. He sounded so jolly I was scared he'd start kissing me or something. The others seemed slightly unnerved too, even Bunny.

Then he stopped laughing. "We'll send you to Camp Half-Blood!" he exclaimed. My senses began to tingle. He had to be joking, right?  
"Ha ha, very funny Santa," I said teasingly, but his face was serious. I slid down the globe so that my butt was in Rio de Janeiro and my feet were in some ocean. The others looked pretty serious too.

I was tempted to slam my staff down and freeze stuff, but I realized that wasn't the answer when it came to the Guardians. "WHA- _WHY!_ " I exclaimed. The other guardians just smiled. "You actually look like a human teenage boy among us. You can easily blend in." Tooth explained. "The Man in the Moon is asking you to go there Jack." An image of the moon appeared above Sandy's head for emphasis.

"Manny said your fate was sealed there, somehow." said Bunny, his voice thick with an Australian accent. I scowled. "At least I look more human than you, ya filthy old kangaroo!" I muttered grumpily. Bunny hopped up, as if he was gonna say some things to me that no child ever wanted to hear, but he was held down by two Yeti's standing off to the side. I smirked triumphantly.

Sandy suddenly slammed his down on the table _. Huh, he beat Santa to it._ "Jack, we're being serious now. You can't disagree with Manny." said Santa. "So will you do it?" The Guardians leaned in towards me in anticipation, waiting for my answer.

I scowled. He glanced at each Guardian in turn, except for Bunny. They were all pleading me. I could tell. I didn't wanna let them down; after all, they had taken me in. I glanced around for Baby Tooth, who had once again nestled in his hair. I scooped her up. "What do you say Baby Tooth?" I asked her excitedly. "Wanna go on an adventure with me?"

She chittered excitedly. I sighed, sliding off the globe. I spread my hands like a show person. "Guess the two of us are going to Camp Half-Blood!" the Guardians cheered. I got a hi-five from Sandy, a sneer from Bunny, a kiss on the cheek from Tooth, and a pat on the back that almost sent me flying from North. I groaned inwardly. What had I gotten myself into?

* * *

 **I did it. WHOOOOOOOOO!  
so that, my friends, was the very first chapter of my story. I really, really, really, hope you liked it!  
Please like, favourite, or review. and stick with me for the next chappie! :3**

 **PEACE!**


	2. New Beginnings and Lost Teeth

**HI THERE! SECOND CHAPTER, JUST FOR YOU, WORLD!**

 **ENJOY WITH JOY!**

* * *

Chapter two: New Beginnings and Lost Teeth

Jack's POV:

"OK. So one more time, what's the point of this expedition to that Camp!?" I asked for what was probably the fifth time. The reason I was forgetting and getting off track was probably because I was writing my very first picture book, called: 100 Things to do with Snow. Original, right?

I was currently on the fiftieth thing to do; which was kind of troll: _Have a snowball fight with your enemies over Hitler's grave._ Totally appropriate for five year olds, right? I mean, C'mon. They probably don't even know who Hitler was. They won't understand a thing!

North slammed his fists on the table (He now owed me a lot of money!). "Fer the last time Frost!" he practically shouted. I smirked. I had that effect on people. I was taking his annoying talk well, until he ripped my childish book out of my hands. I began to whine.

"Listen Jack! We don't know why we're sendin' you there! You gotta figure that out fer yerself!" he exclaimed. The other Guardians were staring at me, looks of hope in their eyes. I sighed inwardly. I could tell they knew I wasn't taking this seriously.

"Fine. I know. I'll do it." I grumbled.

The others sighed in relief. North handed me back my book and I flashed him a snarky grin. Bunny snorted at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him. I could already imagine him clenching his fists under the table.

"Hey, Kangaroo!" I called at him playfully as he sneered at me. "I know you love me and all, but have you noticed how many elves and Yeti's are tripping over those Easter eggs of yours? I mean, c'mon! Don't just leave em' there!" I smirked and winked at him as his face turned bright red, barely visible under his furry face.

"OH YOU ARE GONNA GET IT!" he screeched, lunging at me.

I casually floated into the air and hopped onto my floating staff, out of reach from his fat paws. I swung myself up and sat on the staff like somebody would normally sit on a park bench. He scowled as his paws reached nothing but cold air.

North decided to interfere when Bunny's paw drifted to his boomerang.

"Alright, alright! Easy there, Bunny!" Sandy and Tooth nodded in agreement as Bunny angrily hopped back to his seat. Then the three Guardians glared up at me. Tooth flitted up to my laid back figure and yanked the staff from under my behind in annoyance. I managed a barely audible shriek as I landed back in my seat.

Bunny smirked menacingly at me. I returned the face, hopefully ten times the power than Bunny. North looked ready to pound his fists against the table, and I was about to get more money, but Sandy held up a hand and slammed _his_ fists for North.

My eyes drifted away from Sandy and I went back to my picture book. If only I knew what Hitler's grave looked like. It could have been more historic and whatever. But I just drew a grave and coloured it in, and added to hasty looking stick figures throwing snowballs. I shrugged; satisfied. My drawing seemed accurate enough. Now to do drawing number 51…

I somehow couldn't think of what to draw. I had already written: Make a snowman, make an abominable snowman, start a musical while getting your sister to build a snowman, et cetera. The list was long, but I was Jack Frost. There were loads and loads of things to do with snow!

I slammed my book closed. It would have to go on hiatus for a while, but I could always add additional chapters. Who knows, I might get some ideas and quotes to add about snow! Oh this was gonna be really interesting…

"Dude. Chillax. I'm a fast person. I can find my destiny easy-peasy, then bring Winter. Piece of cake. Hey, speaking of which, can I have some cake?"

"Jack! Take something seriously for once!"

"Calm yourself North, this is the most serious I'll ever get. I think."

North face-palmed dramatically, like only Santa Claus can. The two of us were currently sitting alone in North's office, having a little man-to-man kind of talk. I hopped off the spinning chair I had been currently sitting in and strode over to the huge window by the back. I stared into the almost never ending blizzard, feeling contentment in my hungry belly. I really did need cake…

North joined me at the window, his meaty hands behind his back. Of course, I wasn't intimidated by him, but he made me feel like a midget. And I am NOT a midget! If anything, I'm as tall as two midgets stacked on top of each other.

I was snapped out of my midget-y thoughts when North simply said to me, "You have incredible powers, Jack Don't take them for granted."

I glanced quickly at him then turned my gaze back to the window, and the expanse of endless snow behind it. I didn't know how to respond. Was he giving me a commandment? Or advice? A simple life lesson? In the end, I just didn't say anything. As if understanding (and somehow reading) my thoughts, he said quietly, "This is advice. Take it seriously."

"Psh. I take all advice seriously." I offered him a snarky grin, and he tried not to scowl. I have that effect on people. Well, people who can see me.

You see, even though I am an official Guardian, not everyone knows about me. It takes a while for rumours to spread, especially if those rumours can be transmitted by children. Sorry for making it so it sounds like ebola or pig flu or something, but yeah. Just trying to get my point across.

I continued to nod until it was clear I understood. Of course, I guess I would have to think about his advice and find out how it was useful, but, as seen in movies, that advice would pop up at the right time. But then, I focused my attention on another question that had popped into my head.

"Did Manny help you find your fate?"

North seemed to stiffen, but he regained his normal posture in a heartbeat. "Fate is weird." He said simply. "I was never actually sure if he did help me find it, but yeah. I think he did help. It doesn't really bother me." All I could do was nod. How could he not be sure? He'd been alive for who _knows_ how long. How could he of kept that question, well, not a priority?"

North seemed to notice my thoughts. "I used to ponder it every day, when I had just become a Guardian. But then, I realized I had a job to do." He rubbed his large hands together. "I knew my job was more important than my question, so I haven't bothered myself with it. I feel the other Guardians have done the same."

I nodded, but I felt something stir up in my chest. I was the Guardian of fun. I didn't _want_ to get sucked up into a busy life, with a job! It was so unfair! But I had to at least try for the kids. I'd still have my fun times, right?

I steeled my thoughts. I had to do this, for the kids; to find my fate; blah, blah, blah.

…TIME SKIP…

Baby Tooth fluttered around me, and I could practically feel the waves of agitation rolling off of her. She landed on my staff, and I secretly reminded myself she was there. The last time she had landed on my staff, I had forgotten about her, and well, it didn't go so well. All I can say was, my staff almost ended up in the fireplace.

We were currently in my bedroom. Or at least the only guest room in Santa's workshop that wasn't inhabited my elves or Yeti's. North had said I could stay here all I wanted, or I could room with an elf or something. I had immediately chosen this free room. You would too- Have you ever seen the way an elf brushes its teeth? It's disgusting. Those things have no cares for personal hygiene what so ever.

"Why you so worried?" I chided her, stroking Baby Tooth's feathers. "Are you having second thoughts on going to Camp Half-Blood?"

She shook her head pointedly. I stroked my pretend-beard playfully, trying to think of why she could be so nervous. "Are your feathers falling out for some reason?" She snorted unbelievably at me and tried to smack me upside the head, but it only felt like a light tap. I smirked. "Then tell me, why are you so… nervous?"

She chittered something I couldn't understand at all and pointed to her teeth. "You're nervous about teeth?" I asked, the confusion to visible to hide. Baby Tooth face-palmed and winged over to a globe which had been on my dresser. She pointed to what I assumed was New York, Long Island Sound. Then she pointed to her tooth again.

I shrugged my shoulders. "You're scared of the teeth in New York?" she nodded slightly, but we both knew that wasn't the real answer. It was probably just my best guess. I plopped onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow. "Sorry I asked. I'm confused now."

Baby Tooth nodded as if she was confused too.

I smirked at her again. I lifted my head from my pillow to see her balance on the top of my frost covered head board, with her wings tucked in behind her back and her arms spread out. She managed to successfully walk to the other end of my headboard, but she almost fell off. I gave a small round of applause, rolling over in my bed like a dog.

"What'd you think Camp Half-Blood will look like?" I asked, more to the ceiling then to Baby Tooth. She pointed to me, as if that was her answer. "It'll look like me?" I asked, not really sure where this conversation would lead to.

Baby Tooth giggled, and I knew that wasn't going to be the answer. But I wasn't going to go looking for more answers. It's hard to get answers from someone who doesn't speak your language.

I hopped off my bed and exited the room, wandering off. Today was the day I'd be leaving with Baby Tooth. We'd leave in about an hour. I hadn't packed that much, well, I hadn't packed anything but my picture book. That would be all I needed. I could find food and a place to rest and whatever without the help of a mortal's suitcase, thank you very much.

I glanced over my shoulder to the open door to my room. Baby Tooth had flown out and in the direction of Tooth Fairy. I raised my hand and my staff flew through the door. With a casual looking flick of my wrist, the winds came along and shut the door for me. Then I swung the staff over my shoulder and stalked off to where ever, whistling an off-key version of _Jingle Bells_.

Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me. I could smell the smell of springtime and hard boiled eggs. _Bunny…  
_ I continued to walk, pretending I had never heard the thump of his paws, or, well, the smell. I felt a paw yank on my staff, and I simply let a trail of frost go in his direction. He yelped like only a cowardly prankster could and let go of my staff. I snorted and continued to walk as if nothing had ever happened.

But I couldn't help myself.

I turned around slowly, wagging my finger at Bunny, still smirking like the awesome person I was. Nuh uh uh Bunny! I exclaimed, resisting the urge to freeze him all over and declare myself the winner of our little War.

I would of done it. Freeze him, I mean.

Er… I already was.  
…

But I had only gotten the chance to freeze his huge feet before North came along and stopped me. We got in trouble and blah, blah, blah. This has happened to many times to count, and you don't need to know the details.

…TIME SKIP…

I was at the entrance to the workshop. The huge red doors were wide open, and the Guardians were standing around Baby Tooth and I, saying goodbye and stuff. I didn't really see why we had to say goodbye though- I'd probably come back from time to time- but North had insisted, despite the protests from Bunny and I.

I didn't want to say goodbye to Bunny, let alone talk to him. I was itching to leave, and I knew Baby Tooth was excited too. I put my hands in my pockets, waiting for a chance to make a joke. I didn't see any openings in the older Guardians conversation.

"Ahem!" I shouted against the wind. "Can I talk too?"

They didn't exactly answer me, but they came over. Tooth, Sandy and North gave me a hug that nearly cracked my ribs. Bunny just stood off to the side, looking awkward. _Good,_ I thought. _Let him be like that_.  
But then North called him to join the hug too. Fortunately, he didn't join in.

When we stopped hugging and I caught my breath and got my heart pumping again, I noticed them (even Bunny) smiling wistfully… at me. I felt touched. I would of said something nice and charming at them, but I just stomped my bare feet into the snow.

"Can we stop with the awkwardness and can we leave already?" I asked. So much for being cliché.

North nodded, and Sandy and Tooth gave us an encouraging smile. Bunny nodded slightly, but only to Baby Tooth. For me, he was kind enough to look me in the eye. I smiled excitedly. "You guys are gonna be so happy for me, when I find my fate and come back-"

"But the question is, will you come back alive?" asked Bunny teasingly. I resisted the urge to slap him. That was only for girls to do to guys.

Instead, I motioned for Baby Tooth to go into my pocket. I gripped my staff, psyching up to call the winds to take us to New York. As I was about to fly off, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and heard a flitting noise surround me. Tooth grinned at me. "Jack? Um… Small favour?" I nodded reluctantly.

"There's a girl. Seventeen. She lost her tooth, literally. If you or Baby Tooth happens to find it, can you give it to her?"

I nodded, not bothering to let my brain comprehend that. I just wanted to fly already!

Tooth let go of my shoulder. I raised my hands up in joy. "Winds!" I shouted to the sky, already feeling the wind stir up my hair. "Take us to New York!" I felt my body rush up into the sky, cartwheeling left and right. But then the wind caught me, and carried me away from the North Pole. I looked back to see the Guardians wave at me.

I whooped cheerfully. The sensation of flying was just so… fresh and unimaginable. It was amazing.

As I flew across the North Pole, with Baby Tooth in my pocket and the Aurora Borealis plastered across the night sky, I remembered North's advice. _"_ _Don't take your powers for granted,"_ or something along those lines. I remember shouting to the sky that I never would.

It felt impossible to do so.

Jay's POV:

"So… they're real. Greek gods and goddesses." Part of me hoped Will would be joking, but Will didn't seem like the kind of person to joke with strange girls he just met.

Oh yeah! If you're wondering where I am right now, I'm sitting behind Will, holding onto him for dear life, on a Pegasus. There's something you don't see every day, am I right?

"They're real alright!" Will exclaimed as his blonde hair blew into my mouth. I was tempted to spit it out, but that didn't seem respectful. I _definitely_ didn't want me to drop me off somewhere in the middle of New York! He shouted something to me, but I just assumed I was delirious.

"Did you say that I'm one of you guys!?" I shouted over the wind. It couldn't be possible…

It just couldn't…

I didn't want it to be possible…

"You are! That's why I'm bringing you here! Nico and I were looking for you!"  
I didn't say anything. That probably made up for the worst awkward silence ever. I wanted to scream: THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! And try pinching myself to wake up, but I realized it _did_ make sense. My dad has been missing. What if he was a god?

"Where's Nico anyways!" I shouted to him, not wanting to know _anything_ about my dad yet.

"He came by his own means of transportation!" he shouted over his shoulder. I was still confused, so I didn't ask. That would probably lead to more complicated things. I learned that the hard way with Algebra, but luckily, you don't have to watch me fail miserably at it in some _college_.

Of course, I had a gazillion more questions, like: where are we going? And what is _up_ with the Pegasus?

I kept my right arm around his waist (as weird and creepy as it is), and with my left hand I began feeling through my pocket, looking for my loose tooth. I needed to keep it, just in case. Maybe I could give it to the Tooth Fairy, and get some money to have a decent meal or something.

My fingers groped around in my comfortable pockets. Where was it? My hand instantly felt like it was turning to stone when my brain processed what may have happened to it. "IT'S GONE!" I screamed, almost shattering my _own_ eardrums.

Will yelped at my sudden outburst, and accidentally yanked his reins on Blackjack. The Pegasus whinnied and snorted, but jerked sideways. Will shouted something as we were suddenly sent flying off the winged-horse, and about fifty feet down, straight for some forest. The people in China could probably hear our screaming.

I held Will's hand as tight as possible as I watched him try and send me a message via hand signals. He spread out like a bird, and I got the idea. I spread my arms out also as we plummeted to what was probably our deaths. At least we would die trying to cushion our fall.

He tried shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear him. My eyes were shut. Blood was roaring in my ears. I had never had such a rush of adrenaline in my life. But despite this, I did my best to think of something to cheer me up.

My mom had always told me to think on the bright side of things, and I've been trying to do that all my life. Like when I failed my Math test in Grade 6, I thought: _at least I got an F, not an F-!_

Or like when one of my friends, Jason, and I went and placed stink bombs in the staff room of our school in Grade 7 and got suspended: _At least Jason forced me to do it, so I could blame him all I want!_

But now, as I was waiting for death, I thought _: At least I'll go down holding hands with a cute guy!_ It made me feel a _little_ better about dying.

Will yanked my hand and I forced myself to open my hazel eyes and look at what he was pointing at. I had never felt so happy at someone yanking on my arm. I whooped, pumping my free fist in the air. Will looked just as happy as Blackjack came swooping down to catch Will and I, a rope tied to his reins.

The two of us leaned forward, attempting to get as close to Blackjack as possible. But as the Pegasus neared us with spread wings, a trickle of doubt seeped into my mind. But I realized it was too late to turn back.

Will reached for the rope and-

* * *

 **OOH, A LITTLE SUSPENSE TO KEEP YOU GUYS HANGING!**

 **PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW, TO ANY OF YOU READERS! SERIOUSLY, I NEED FEEDBACK.**

 **WELL, THANK YOU FOR READING, AND TUNE IN FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: AN ATTACK AMIDST A SNOW STORM!**


	3. An Attack Amidst a Snowstorm

**ME: HI! IT'S ME, WITH A SPECIAL GUES STAR! INTRODUCING...  
*DRAMATIC DRUMROLL IN BACKGROUND*  
ME: LEO VALDEZ!  
*CROWD OF FANGIRLS FAINTS AND SCREAMS AND GOES CRAZY*  
ME: SO TELL ME, LEO-  
*MOB OF FANGIRLS DROWNS ME IN THEIR WAKE*  
ME: COMMERCIAL! ROLL THE COMMERCIALS!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

Will managed to grab onto Blackjack. Well, the rope around his neck. He held onto me tightly.

My feet dangled in the air. I felt my adrenaline rush slowly dissipate, but it was only replaced with more adrenaline. I had never felt so scared-and annoyed in my life. If you were in my situation, you'd probably be annoyed too. You'd want to diss every action movie or book, where the characters would do awesome stunts and make it look easy and possible.

That felt like nothing compared to what was happening to me.

I was terrified; too terrified to scream. My arm was cramped and sore from holding on to Will so tightly. I was sweaty and had a missing tooth. All in all, it was super awesome! Not.

I felt Will shift above me, so he was sitting on Blackjack. I felt relieved. I was tempted to whoop and say: WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT! But then, I realized Will was probably the only one that was going to make it.

My hands slipped out of his.

There I was, falling for the second time in about five minutes. If there was a record for most frequent faller, I'd have a gold medal weighing me down right now. But I was falling. And I didn't have a medal. I screamed, writhing and flailing in fear. I never EVER wanted to fly again!

I could hear shouting, but I was too scared to comprehend what was being said. The forest below was getting closer and closer by the second, and I knew Will wouldn't be there holding my hand. I was completely out of positive things to say. I could already imagine what heaven would be like. Would I meet my father there?

The branches of the trees seemed to break my fall. Nico had caught me.

This would probably be a very funny story to tell one day: _There I was, falling in the ultimate free for all off a Pegasus, when I was caught by a skinny freak and slowed by tree branches!_ Then everybody would cheer and I'd win the Nobel Peace Prize or something.

But, Nico caught me. Just as I was about to become a Jay-pancake, he just appeared and saved me. Then Will and Blackjack landed to check us out. Blackjack snorted and whinnied worriedly. His hooves slammed into earth with so much force I was scared he'd start an earthquake. Will looked just as worried, but he showed his worry like a human, not a horse.

"Are you OK?!" he shrieked, sounding almost hysterical. "HOW many broken bones do you-did you get any scratches or bruises?" he continued to freak out, but I felt too tired to listen. NIco caught my gaze, and he just shrugged. Will began to pace and Nico leaned in to whisper something to me. "Don't worry; he's not usually like this. It's a child of Apollo thing-he's obsessed with healing."

I nodded as if I understood. _A child of Apollo thing…_ My weary mind traveled to a memory of when I was in Grade 4, and was reading a book with Jason and another friend of mine. It mentioned something about an Apollo…

I felt my last bits of energy and adrenaline ebb away from my body. I promptly passed out into Will's arms.

* * *

A few minutes later, I woke up. I was still in the forest, and Will was at my side cleaning up a few cuts on my arms from the branches. I watched him bandage up the cuts with heavy eyelids. I would have indicated I was awake, but he seemed too concentrated to watch, and I was just too tired.

Under his curtain of blonde hair, I noticed that his mouth was tugged into a thin line of determination, and his eyes held a bit of fear. That's when I started being scared too.

It was as if the two of us were in a time bubble. A _really_ cold time bubble. Despite the cold, there was no breeze to rustle the trees or the autumn leaves strewn across the floor. There were no birds or squirrels or anything moving or making sounds. The calmness was eerie.

I coughed, getting Will's attention. A slight smile washed onto his rugged features, but only for a little bit. "And so she wakes," he announced, his voice almost breaking the spell of silence. I tried for a smile back, but I didn't feel like it; especially with a gaping hole where my front tooth should have been in my mouth.

He stood back and gave me some personal space. He watched the beautiful trees with fear. "You sense it, don't you?" he whispered to me as I stood up. I nodded at him. "Should we go? Where's Nico?" I asked, trying to mask the fear in my tone with the question. Will continued to glance around nervously.

"He went off. Trying to do something, heck I don't know." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. I tried to ignore it and face the next problem (one problem at a time, right?). "Something's not right." I said, more to me then to Will. He nodded at me anyways.

"You're a keen little girl, Jay."

"I'm 17."

"Sorry! Just… not used to addressing 17 year olds."

I approached him cautiously. "What's going on Will? I feel lost…" he reached out to comfort me, but we heard a rumble emanate from the ground. I grabbed the hem of my red sweatshirt. My legs began to give way when we heard a loud crack. Will jumped on top of me and we tumbled onto the dirt.

I tried not to squirm underneath him as I noticed the three feet long crack in the ground. "Will?" I whispered. "What's-"

A roar echoed through the forest, shattering the silence.

Will rolled off of me and shoved me up. "We have to run! Run NOW!" he shouted as we tore off through the woods.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I screamed over my shoulder, not really sure where we were running to, or what we were running from.

I figured out what we were running from in a matter of seconds.

Paws drummed against the earth, loud furry thumps that definitely did NOT belong to the Easter Bunny. I turned around, but only for a second. I managed to glimpse 5 huge lump of black fur coming toward the two of us. They looked oddly like … dogs?

"What are _THOSE_!?" (Ignore the joke.) I screeched. I could hear Will as he tried to catch his breath. "They're…" he trailed off, seeming to have trouble talking while he ran. "Hellhounds…" I could hear him say. Then I heard him mutter off some pretty non-juvenile curses. "Where's Nico when we need him?!" He shouted to a tree as we veered past it.

By now I was so confused that I wouldn't be surprised if I was trapped in a dreamlike-state or a coma, or just going mad.

We kept running for about five minutes, but then things took a hard right on We-are-so-going-to-make-it-Street. In those five minutes, we tired out, but the Hellhounds seemed to be gaining on us. Will had been leading me around trees; over fallen down trees; and through humongous heaps of autumn leaves. I would have paused to look at the scenery, but, naturally, I was in a near-death situation.

Will seemed to be tiring out fast, and our pace seemed to be slowing down. I could hear him panting. Oh, and don't get me wrong- I was tired too! I could feel the beads of perspiration run down my forehead. I had forgotten all about the cold.

Fast forward a minute later and Will had tripped over a tree root and was sprawled across the forest floor. The Hellhounds towered over us, snarling menacingly. I backed up, trying to drag Will along with me. I could see his lips moving, and I assumed he was saying a prayer to whatever gods or god was out there, but then I realized he was saying only one thing: _Nico._

I felt my breath quicken as the two of us were backed up against a tree. I could feel the gnarled grooves in the bark push into my skin. The hounds neared us, and my heart skipped a beat once I noticed their eyes. Oh gosh… They were beady and pure black, like nightmares. I could imagine skulls in them, as if they were a warning death was near. I glanced discreetly as Will. In that quick second, we made eye contact, and a sign of understanding flashed between us. I gave a slight nod and he nodded back. _We'd die friends._ That was what we had agreed on.

The leader of the group leaned in, baring his teeth at us. He was about to bite us and then-

WE DIED.

Ha ha. Just kidding.

Nico showed up to save us. He sliced the Hellhound's head clean off with the blade that had been hanging around his belt when I first met him. Then he held a calm hand out to the other dogs. They whimpered and retreated immediately. He helped the two of us onto our feet and glared at Will apprehensively. "What were you thinking?" he asked, his voice steely calm and sending shivers down my spine.

As if I couldn't be any more freaked out, I realized the Hellhound's head deteriorate before my very eyes, leaving a trace of sulphur in the air. I gagged. My stomach didn't seem to have a high tolerance for disappearing decapitated dog heads. Will tossed me another water bottle from out of nowhere, and I chugged it.

Nico nodded at me. "Hang in there, Jay, alright? We have to leave. Those Hellhounds-"

He paused, his face turning into a scowl. He and Will looked up, and I followed the example. _What the-_

"Snow? SNOW!?" shrieked Will.

Sure enough, there was a trail of snow, falling from the sky. Nico cursed. I tried not to sound too excited when I asked, "What's so bad about snow?"

The boys ignored my question and began to bicker amongst themselves.  
"Khione-"  
"Yeah. It's heading for camp. We have to leave!"  
"But the snow doesn't seem-"  
"SEEM!?"  
"… Harmful."

Will stared wide-eyed at Nico. I took that moment to barge in. "Who's Khione?" I asked, feeling my questions begin to pile in my mouth. "Why's it snowing? And what's this talk about a camp?"

Will and Nico just continued to scowl. "Look," said Nico, suddenly seeming ten years older. I shivered at his sudden change in tone. Then rather gruffly, he said, "Half-bloods. Demigods. I bet Will already gave you the gist of all that?"

I nodded slightly. "It's just hard to comprehend all of that… stuff."

Will smiled slightly.

"Then I bet he told you they're real, right?"

"… I… yeah." I paused, reeling in a deep breath. "It's a lost to take in," I added defensively. Nico's face played into a ghostly smile. "It is." He answered. "And we're the children of these gods and goddesses. You are one too."

I blinked. Will had said that before, but it was all too much to believe. "I-I… I'm speechless." I stammered.

Nico sighed. "You're taking this better than we thought, actually. Well, us, um, demigods, we go to a camp. Where we train, and keep safe. We learn to fight monsters and deal with life. It's called Camp Half-Blood. We're going to have to take you there."

Jack's POV:

New York was a tangled heap of lights and buildings, nothing like Burgess. It just seemed, so… big, so _busy._ But I had seen it all before. Me being the winter Guardian who spread snow, this was all too familiar. I had flown by countless times in the 300 years I call life. It was nothing new, really.

But Baby Tooth seemed pretty surprised, actually. I guess New York just wasn't where she and her squadron of hummingbird-like creatures worked. She flew alongside my head with her mouth agape as I did the back-crawl, just for fun. Flying was just so awesome…

We flew past the large city, leaving large trails of snow behind, and not to mention the occasional feather. I watched shoppers walk busily along the sidewalk, and I remembered what people called this place: _the city that never sleeps._

We flew away from the city, just far enough so that we could actually see the moon and the stars, and tell that it was 11:00 in the night. New York was awful like that-it was taken over by light pollution.

Soon we couldn't see the city at all. We flew over a massive expanse of forest and were surrounded by night-time. I tried not to imagine Pitch Black popping up at any second and obliterating us.

Suddenly, there was a loud rustle below us, and the sound of whimpering dogs. I shot down so fast that a trail of snow flew around me. I could vaguely hear human voices, mumbling softly, yet seeming nervous and terrified.

Then I heard some serious cursing, and decided I didn't want to listen.

I flew off, still searching for the camp _. I'm almost there, and I know it…_

Jay's POV:

"Now explain the… the snow. You know what's going on, don't you?" I asked fearfully. I recalled the two of them speaking of someone. Was it… Chony? No. Khione. Yeah. That was it.

The three of us were currently on an upward trek across the forest. Will had stuck close to me while Nico sulked around us. Every once in a while he would cast me a frown, which wasn't that comforting, I'll admit. Will watched him, almost sadly. I couldn't figure out what was going on exactly between the two of them.

"Well," I was snapped out of my thoughts by Will's voice, which was a relief beyond relief. The silence and the darkness were eating me up. "Greek gods and goddesses have, what we call, spheres of influence. Like, example, Apollo. My dad. He's the god of archery, poetry, and not to mention prophecy."

I felt Nico's gaze fixate on me at the mention of prophecy. I thought back to one of the first things Will had said to me: We were searching for you. Was I part of a prophecy? Was that why they were looking for me?

"Khione is the goddess of snow and frost and all that stuff." Finished Will as he wrung his hands. Nico looked up at the sky, as if looking for more snow. "We demigods haven't been on friendly terms with this goddess. Let's just say she froze a bunch of us from one time or another." I was amazed that Nico had bothered to speak. Sure, I barely heard him, but he _spoke._

But at the mention of Khione I felt an odd stirring in my gut. "I thought Jack Frost was the god of Winter. I mean, he is. In the stories and the Internet." I felt a tinge of excitement begin to build up inside of me. "If all these mythological beings and whatever are real, does that mean that Jack's real too?" My hands clenched and unclenched into fists as I anticipated for Will or Nico's answer.

But Will and Nico just laughed. I got the hint immediately, and felt my cheeks heat up _. I'm too childish for all this seriousness. Of course he isn't real…_

"He's not real." Answered Will. Then he added, "Neither is Santa or any of those dudes. That's just children myths. Not Greek myths, Jay."

I hung my head. So much for meeting one of my only childhood imaginary friends… Er… Nothing. I said nothing. It's not like when I was a child, I went on adventures with imaginary friends! Psh… ha, ha, ha…  
GAH! You got me. When I was a child I had imaginary friends. I think that's something all children had, from one time to another.

One was a fair-skinned girl, with huge green eyes and long flowing blond hair. She would wear short purple dresses and run around bare foot. She'd even have a chameleon named Pascal. We would always paint or draw together. I called her Rapunzel.

Then there was Hiccup. His best friend was a dragon named Toothless, and they would fly alongside me whenever I was in a moving vehicle. Hiccup had brown shaggy hair, and freckles were splotched across his face. And for whatever reason, had some serious metabolism issues.

Then there was Merida. She was a defiant princess with springy red curls. She had a bow and arrow, and would tell me tales and myths of bears and things she called Wisps. She was one of the most boyish girls I had ever known or imagined, and I loved her.

And of course, there was Jack Frost. He was like the devilish part of my self-conscious, and was the main reason I got in trouble. But he was also the main reason I had fun. We'd start snow fights together and play. He was my favourite of my imaginary friends.

And that was my childhood in a nutshell. Isn't it so cliché?

I put myself back into the present and focused on climbing the next few hills. Will was now talking with Nico, but over my tiredness and my drifting thoughts, I couldn't understand a word they said. But Nico seemed happy, surprisingly. So I just assumed they were trying to cheer each other up. _I could use a little spirit rally myself,_ I thought selfishly.

Nico stopped abruptly, and Will and I glanced worriedly at him. "What's wrong?" asked Will, brushing shoulders with Nico. Nico shoved him harshly, but winced immediately after, as if the guilt would make him explode. "They're coming back. We have to run. NOW."

Seconds after he said that, we were in a mad sprint from another pack of Hellhounds. My legs began to wobble again. When would this day end?

A huge roll of bandages fell out of Will's backpack, and a Hellhound tripped on one. I pumped my fist in the air, realizing we were one spare second apart from the vicious dogs. We urged ourselves to go faster. Will seemed to be muttering something, and Nico was mumbling stuff back, but I was feeling too sluggish to comprehend anything except the words: _We have to run. NOW._ Seriously, those words were like life support to me for some reason.

The distance between us and the Hellhounds seemed to only get smaller, no matter how fast we ran. "We need to stop running!" I exclaimed, gasping for any air I could get into my lungs. "Nico… can't you use your sword?!" I shrieked, sounding delirious. Nico grinned, and turned a hard left. Will and I swerved to catch up with him, but he seemed to be sprinting faster than we could ever. He gave us a thumbs-up sign over his shoulder, as if he knew what he was doing, but I was still nervous.

Once we had caught up with him, he shoved the two of us into a heap of arms and legs behind him. Will helped me to my feet as the Hellhounds pounded closer to us.

"Uh…" I took a shaky breath. "Nico? A sword would be nice right now…" Will grabbed my arm and pulled me back as Nico calmly raised his hand out to the Hellhounds. They paused uncertainly as the earth beneath us began to rumble.

Every living creature stood still. Skeletal human figures rose from the earth, and Will clamped a firm hand over my hand to stop me from shrieking. The Hellhounds whimpered, as if they were unsure on whether to charge at us or not. Nico grinned, but he had a concentrated look on his face. I understood what was happening immediately. These skeletons were _Nico's_ doing. And they were going to scare the Hellhounds away.

Nico shouted something in Latin and the skeletons began to slowly walk towards the hounds. A few of them carried assault rifles and others wore army fatigue uniforms. One of the soldiers was ready to shoot a Hellhound square in the forehead.

But even before he could lock and load, all Hades broke loose.

Wait! Let me rephrase that. All Hades already broke loose. So now: All Jack Frost broke loose.

Of course, it was snowing.

A large snowflake landed on Nico's nose and he lost all concentration. The soldiers collapsed immediately, and the hounds surged forward. The leader knocked Nico onto his feet. Will and I both cried out, but Nico was already unconscious. We scrambled backward, and all the while Will was screaming: "Nico! Nico!" but we couldn't do anything.

Jack's POV:

I heard the screaming again.

I glanced at Baby Tooth, and she seemed to have heard it too. I could hear growling too. The growling and snarls were loud enough to drown out the screams, and we decided there was nothing to lose.

We dived down to check what was going on.

I perched by a tree, trying to pray to the Man in the Moon to shine light on the trouble.

He obeyed.

A beam of moonlight filtered through the forest, and I could hear shrieks and howling. I crouched down and realized what was going on. Three kids were being attacked by… dogs. But the dogs were huge and scary, as if they were the pets of Death himself. The thought filled me with dread, and I could barely shut my mouth before I realized one of the kids was knocked unconscious.

I could make out the faint sounds of crying, and I realized one of the kids was a girl. Baby Tooth began to tug on my sweater sleeve, and we exchanged a worried glance. "We have to help, I agree," I whispered to her.

I hung myself upside-down from my post on the tree so that I was hanging by the crooks of my knees (if that makes any sense). I gripped my staff tightly and readied it to blast a bit of ice at the dogs. I squinted one eye shut and gripped my staff even tighter. I needed my perfect aim…

I blasted a swirling piece of ice at one of the dog's feet.

Jay's POV:

Death was near.

Not! Ha!

Just as the Hellhounds were advancing over to Will and I, a blast of ice appeared out of nowhere and hit the leading hound, freezing its fat black paws to the ground. I shrieked and scrambled backwards, trying to see where the ice came from. I could have sworn I saw a mop of tousled white hair, but then it was gone. Will followed my example, looking just as confused as I was.

The hounds fled the scene, leaving their leader frozen to the forest floor. He snarled at us, but I wasn't scared anymore. I was sick of being scared of dogs. I marched up to Nico's body and crouched next to him. I pressed a warm palm to his forehead. "Nico?" I called softly. Will put a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to him hesitantly. "He wouldn't want you touching him, Jay. But don't worry-he'll wake up."

I breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his forehead. Will crouched down next to me. I could still hear the snarling Hellhound. I yawned and Will yawned back. "Crazy night, right Jay?" I nodded wearily.  
" _Oh yeah_. I never wanna see a Hellhound-or any dog for that matter- for the rest of my life."

Will smiled faintly, but I could tell he seemed awfully sad. "A wish like that can't be granted, not now that you know you're a half-blood." Despite his easygoing tone, I could sense he felt a little bit guilty about saying that, as if he was crushing my one living dream. Which _was_ kind of true.

I tried my best to shake off the tiredness dragging me down with every breath as Will helped me to my feet.

"Don't worry. Once Nico wakes up we'll be on our way. We're almost at Camp Half-Blood."

Jack's POV:

The girl had been looking for me.

I know it.

She had stared in my direction!

And she was very pretty too…

* * *

 **THAT TOOK AN AWFULLY LONG TIME TO RIGHT.**

 **THANK YOU IN ADVANCE AND BELATED-LY (IF THAT IS A WORD) FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED. PLEASE REVIEW, I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK. I'M DYING.**

 **AND YES. LEO HAD TO LEAVE. HE NEEDS SOME ALONE TIME. BUT REST ASSURED, HE'LL COME BACK.**


	4. Suspicions and Such

**SUP! I'M BACK, AND SO IS LEO! YEAH!** ***LEO COMES ON STAGE WITH A CAST AND CRUTCHES*  
ME: OH MY! ARE YOU OK?!  
LEO: I'M FINE, SERIOUSLY. BUT SOMEONE ASKED US A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION, AND I THINK WE NEED TO ANSWER IT.  
ME: OH YEAH! GUEST ASKED US THIS: (NOT IN EXACT WORDS) DO YOU LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT?  
LEO: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, HER MUSIC! HER NEW SONG, WILDEST DREAMS, WAS OFF THE HOOK. CALYPSO LIKES IT TOO!  
ME: WOW! WE HAVE THE SAME TASTE IN MUSIC LEO! HIGH-FIVE!  
*WE HIGH-FIVE***

 **LEO: WELL, ENJOY THE NEWEST CHAPTER, UPLOADED WITH THE HELP OF YOURS TRULY!  
ME: HA HA, VERY FUNNY LEO.  
LEO AND I: ENJOY WITH JOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

She had been pretty. _Really_ pretty. That was all he had been thinking about before he officially met her on Halloween. Wait… too far? Let's rewind a bit.

Sorry. Just wanted to get to the important stuff, but I know people these days are interested in details. So if you don't mind, I'll be handing the story over to Jay…

Jay's POV:

Nico and Will acted as my body guards the rest of the way to the camp. It was pitch black out there, but Will informed me that it was three in the morning. I tried to take that as a compliment: _Woo! I stayed up all night!_ But all I could think of was the snow. It was just so unexpected…

I hadn't told Will or Nico about what I thought was the hair of a boy who had saved us. I'd rather have them bring it up so I have less of a chance of embarrassing myself _again_. Even though they had only laughed for two seconds, my brain wasn't in the mood to live it down. Little things like that can set off the human brain.

But that couldn't help me from thinking about it.

Looking back with my dreary thoughts, I realized how creepy it would be if a random boy tried saving us. Was he following us? Was he a half-blood too? Did he even exist? What if I was just going crazy? I realized the last question was dumb to ask because the answer was already confirmed _: yes, I'm crazy_.

I shivered, like I have been for the past hour of walking. Now that my adrenaline rush had gone down dramatically, I was back to my freezing-self. By the look Will was giving me, I could tell he was tempted to give me his sweatshirt. Except he didn't have one, which made the situation weirder. "I think you're coming down with a cold," he muttered as he wrung his hands.

I didn't want to say anything. I'd rather just let Will be right.

Nico had zoned out of what small conversation we ever had. I guess he just wasn't a people person, so to speak. I don't really even know how to start a conversation. People just start it for me, which I totally don't mind.

I'm definitely not normal. HELLO, I've been homeless for a while. The last song I remembered listening too and enjoyed was… I forgot what it was called. I don't listen to music anymore because I lost my phone in a dumpster (long story); and because of that I lost all means of communicating with my best friends, which led to me losing them. The last film I watched was probably _Frozen._ I had snuck into the movie theater, just to watch an animated part of my childhood, and it was probably the most worthwhile thing I had ever done.

I tried not to burst into tears at the thought of my best friends. We had always imagined ourselves as super awesome and popular, but in reality we were just the weirdo's of Elementary and Middle School. Three girls: Dawn, Nyssa and I, and three boys: Jason, Dan and Gabby (who we nicknamed Gunther). We'd do a lot together, and our teachers would always comment on how we were such good friends. Every other student believed that we were only friends because of 'who-likes-who' theories, but I felt that wasn't true. We were just friends. But then I had just left them. And I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that.

We'd hang out in the summer wherever, but when school would start we'd try to arrange ourselves into study groups. But because half of our little group was boys, and Jack would always try to influence me, it ended up in a lot of trouble. But none of us really minded.

Winter was always the best. By fifth grade, we were the only group of kids playing around in the snow, while everyone just walked and talked. We thought the idea of that was dumb and boring.

Oh, what good memories…

Will put a soft hand on my shoulder and I only just realized my eyes were getting watery. But he hadn't seemed to notice that. I looked up and realized we had arrived at our destination: Camp Half-Blood. Nico looked relieved, but I felt my confusion surround me like a blanket.

"Welcome to your new home!" exclaimed Will excitedly. I shook my thoughts. _This place didn't seem so… home-like…_

The two boys led me through the entry way.

We trudged up a hill and Will pointed out a huge pine tree to me. "Thalia's tree," he explained. "Named after a real daughter of Zeus. Long story short, she was a tree then became human again." We continued to walk. I couldn't help staring at the huge dragon snoozing peacefully at the trunk, but Nico told me I could rest assured that the thing was harmless. Most of the time.

They led me down the hill into a large clearing surrounded by awesomeness.

There were multiple cabins for the campers. A huge big house like building stood out, but what really caught my attention was the climbing wall: a huge wall full of crazy obstacles like lava, spikes, falling pieces of debris and the constant smell of burnt marshmallows wafting around it. I didn't really even notice how different and out of place the cabins looked.

Will and Nico jogged down to the big house and I followed without hesitation. If they went somewhere, I felt like I had no choice but to follow. "Welcome to the Big House," said Will, never breaking his enthusiasm record. I smirked. "… It's literally called the Big House?" he nodded well naturedly as Nico banged his fist on the door.

I heard a snort sound from behind the door and a hasty, "Come in." Will opened the door to let the two of us in. Nico stepped in first, but that's not important. What was really important was that the man who had said come in… wasn't exactly a man. I backed up against Nico and Will as the horse-man laughed good naturedly at me, as if I had just given him a compliment and not freaked out about his appearance. I thought back to a book I had read in grade five, called _Wonder._ It was about a boy with a facial deformation and all that. I couldn't help but imagine this horse dude as the main character and me being just a mean person.

"… Sorry," I said to him as he chuckled. "It's all good, Jay Swift."

"… How do you know my name?" I questioned nervously. My hand clenched and unclenched into fists. The horse dude just chuckled some more. "I'll explain, just once Will and Nico leave." The two began to make for the door. Will cast me a comforting smile, and Nico gave me a thumbs-up. I gulped, turning back to the man. He motioned for me to sit next to him, and I obliged hesitantly.

"Don't worry, young lady. I don't bite."

Jack's POV:

"Camp Half-Blood Tooth! We made it! WOOOOOOOO!" I shrieked to the sky. Baby Tooth seemed excited to as she punched a tiny fist in the air. Then she flew off. "BABY TOOTH!" I shouted, but she was already off and looking around. I sighed, not feeling that excited anymore.

In truth, I had only acted excited for Baby Tooth, but my thoughts wandered. The girl I had seen… she seemed so _familiar_ , but I knew for sure I had never met her before. It was weird. It struck me that she and her companions were close to the camp. Had they been looking for it too?

Then I realized I was stupid for thinking this. I forced myself to believe I didn't care and floated down onto a sandy beach. A large forest loomed behind me but I didn't want to go there. I had enough of forests. I sat down on a large piece of driftwood, trying to steel my nerves. I had no idea of what I was going to do.

I wanted to go back to Burgess. I had never seen any of the campers, but judging by the looks of this camp it was filled with teenagers. Teenagers might not believe. Would I get any friends? I didn't want to be alone with just Baby Tooth. I needed people to tease, girls to flirt with!  
I sighed, realizing how selfish I was sounding. I guess that now that I'm a Guardian, I want attention. It's stupid, I know.

I huffed and crossed my right arm over my left. My left arm was holding my staff.

I wanted to curl up and cry. I had left Burgess just to find my fate. What if my fate was to stay isolated and alone? To be neglected? The thought of reliving the last three hundred years made me want to cry. Life just seemed so unfair.

I stood up and stretched in a desperate attempt to shake off my fears. I needed some _fun_. I swung my staff out to the ocean, freezing the choppy waves that lapped the shore. It was a wonderful sight. I flew across the waves, examining them carefully. Then I flew off, forcing myself into the woods. I landed on a tree branch with stealth.

"OK Jack," I muttered to myself. "Parkour; let's go!" I whooped and jumped from branch to branch like a cat. I had perfecting these tricks for forever, so, I'm totally awesome. "I am so AWESOME!" I said for emphasis. I was suddenly feeling much better.

That is, until I got a stomach full of _tree branch._ I groaned, feeling loopy. It was as if the tree had punched my gut. I continued to groan as I floated to the ground. I lay at the bottom of the tree, nestling into a patch of moss. "Ugh…" I muttered. Maybe I'll just stay here for a while…

I fell asleep.

Jay's POV:

"You may have heard of me, if you're familiar with Greek Mythology," explained Chiron. I nodded, trying to process this all. "You were in that Disney movie…" I said, trying to remember all the Disney movies I had ever watched.

He scowled. "That was obviously not me. I'm a centaur, not a satyr! But yes, I suppose you are somewhat correct." All I could do was nod.

I glanced around the room, trying to find at least something that could help me stay sane, or at least make me look sane. This was all too much. Chiron seemed to sense my discomfort. "It's a lot to take in, I know Jay. But you'll get used to it." I nodded and forced myself to look him in the eye. "Um… Will and Nico told me my dad was a god. Do you know, um-"

"Which god?" he finished, which pretty much summed up my question. I felt a little hope stir in my chest. What if he did know? Chiron shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know." _WAY TO CRUSH A GIRL'S DREAM HORSE PERSON!_ I thought bitterly. He seemed to sense my anger and reassured me with a quick, "Don't worry. You'll be claimed soon."

After a few minutes of talking he let me go off to look for Will or Nico. Luckily they were just outside the building, waiting for me to come out. Seeing them, I felt a rush of familiarity surround me. I guess that's just how you feel about people when you spent what-you-thought-were-the-hours-before-death with. Try thinking a thought like that, it's a mouthful. Or should I say a thoughtful? LOL.

A breath of relief escaped my lips when the two smiled at me. "C'mon!" exclaimed Will. "We'll take you on the grand tour." I followed them down the steps and through the camp.

Will pointed to a few cabins. He and Nico had told me that each cabin was for each god or goddess' children. Will's voice rang in the air. "… Poseidon, Hermes, Hades, Aphrodite…" all the names jumbled in my head as I watched as campers slowly made their way out of the cabins and were coming out to stare at us. _Maybe it's too early for a tour…_ I though, hoping that none of the campers were looking at me.

But I could feel eyes burning into the back of my head. My mom had always said I was pretty, but I'd rather think I was normal. The thought of my mother saying I was pretty made me want to punch these campers for proving my mom correct. I gritted my teeth and began trying to listen to Will. But he was stopped short when a group of five teens lingered by. "Hey! Guys!" he exclaimed, waving them over. "Come meet Jay!"

The five of them strode over and I looked at my shoes, trying to ignore their contemplative looks. Will smiled at them. "Guys, this is Jay. Jay, meet Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo!" another girl joined the group. "This is Calypso," he added hastily. I glanced up at them. They all seemed my age which I found slightly comforting. A curly haired Latino boy-Leo-came right up in my face. He grinned, and his breath smelled awfully like gasoline. I backed up, trying to get at least some personal space between us.

I could hear his friends snicker.

"HI Jay!" Leo said, coming even closer. My eyes widened as he leaned his head in closer and closer… I shoved him, feeling my heart race. "What's your problem?!" I asked, feeling my nerves wrack. I felt a panic attack coming on. Leo laughed as he fell to the ground. The others continued to laugh, even Will and Nico. I felt even more nervous and embarrassed as more campers circled around us, watching the hysterical Latino.

I tried backing into the crowd, but Leo stumbled after me, a look of concern on his face. His friends seemed to see the worry on my face and the girls glanced at me sympathetically. "Jay, I'm sorry-" I continued to back up, but stumbled into more people. A few campers began to laugh and I was shoved to the ground.

Suddenly I heard loud voices and arms trying to help me up. I smelled gasoline and felt skinny yet strong arms hoist me up and guide me through the crowd. I had my eyes shut the whole time, but I knew I had two saviours. Leo, obviously. And another girl I didn't recognize at all. She was very pretty though. With big baby blue eyes and blond hair, and not to mention her fair complexion, I could tell she was a daughter of Aphrodite. My eyes widened as I tried to stay away from Leo, whose face was a bright red.

Suddenly Will and Nico were by my side again. I sighed, wanting to jump into their arms. I turned on them instead. "Don't do that again! What kind of friends do you have? Does the Latino have any common sense?!" I shouted, not caring if Leo heard. I gazed at them, feeling like a child. My breathing began to subside as the rest of their friends joined around me.

The girl, Calypso sighed at me. "He doesn't have common sense," she said, a slight twinkle in her eye. "He has me. But, he was dared by the Stoll brothers to greet the next three new campers by kissing them." I blinked, realizing that Calypso was Leo's girlfriend. The blonde girl with the baby blue eyes laughed. "You're lucky you're not a guy. The last camper that came here just so happened to be one, so consider yourself lucky." She grinned at me, and it struck me that she must be popular for being this friendly.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Ashley by the way. Daughter of Aphrodite. You can call me Ash." I nodded, but didn't oblige to her hand. She looked slightly disappointed as I turned back to Leo. He ran an oily hand through his hair. "Sorry, Jay. It was just for fun and-"  
I forced myself to smile. "It's cool. Pranking is always fun. Once, me and my friend snuck stink bombs into the staff room at our school."

His eyes lit up excitedly. "You like pranking too? No way! One day, we have to team up."

A pretty girl with choppy braided hair groaned at the two of us. "This is never a good thing," she said jokingly to the others. Then she paused. "At least you have more than a few friends to count on," she added to me. I smiled for real now.

My smile was cut short when I noticed Annabeth studying me like I was a wild animal. "What?" I asked, not being able to help myself. "… Nothing." She answered back. Percy put a hand on her arm. "Don't mind Annabeth, she's always staring at people." He said jokingly. He got an elbow to the stomach. "Percy!" Annabeth complained; all concentration lost. I could immediately tell they were dating too.

I felt Will's hand on my shoulder. "Come on Jay. Let's finish the tour." I followed him and Will when I heard Ash again. "Wait!" she shouted, following us. "Will, Nico, you look tired. I've got Jay."  
Will glanced at me, as if asking for my permission. I gulped and gave him a slight nod. He handed me over to Ash and followed Nico to the cabins. Then Ash turned to me.

I shook my head ever so slightly and let my bangs fall cross my forehead, just so Ash couldn't see my eyes. She began pointing out more things, like the climbing wall, the workshop, a sword arena, and the dining pavilion. Our tour ended an hour later.

I'll admit: it was kind of fun to hang out with Ash. She had many friends and reminded me of a friendlier version of Sharpay Evans. Every once in a while she would pass someone and they'd start a casual conversation, but they left me out. At first, I didn't mind, but I began to feel a pang in my stomach that was definitely not my hunger. That was the feeling of loneliness and neglect to me. As I kept watching Ash, I realized I could try to be more like her. Be more friendly. Maybe I was brought to this camp to start the beginning of a new me.

Jack's POV:

I woke up an hour later, feeling much better.

I was now in broad daylight, and I could hear loud voices and wafting smells of delicious foods. The campers had woken. I stretched myself, glancing around. Baby Tooth still wasn't there. I shrugged that off and let my stomach lead me to the delicious smells of food.

Once I got to the food-place, I regretted ever being bitter about coming here.

There was food. So much food! It was like an all you could eat buffet. And, since I was mainly invisible to teens, I could take all I wanted! "Maybe this is my fate," I said to myself, plucking a few cookies from a nearby plate and munching on them happily. Some campers passed through me, but I couldn't care. All I could think about was the food.

A handful of grapes and ten cookies later, I sat beside a bunch of campers, holding my full stomach. It was so stupid of me to eat all those cookies right after a huge punch-by-tree, but I couldn't care less. I was in heaven. "Baby Tooth is gonna love this-"

I was cut off by angry chattering. I whipped my head around. "Baby Tooth! There you are!" I exclaimed, but she pointed an angry finger to my lips. She opened them, examining my teeth. "What's wrong?" I asked, which was mind of hard to say with hands feeling your teeth. She pointed to a hole in a wooden picnic table then back to my teeth. "O-oh, yeah. Cavities. Sorry Baby Tooth."

She continued to go through her angry fit as I ushered her out of the pavilion. "OK, clearly my fate isn't with these cookies." I finished wistfully. Baby Tooth slapped my arm, as if to say _: you know better, Jack!_ I put my hands up as a sign of defeat. "I won't do it again!" of course, my toes were crossed, but she didn't know that. I was totally going back for more cookies, even if it meant my teeth didn't sparkle like freshly fallen snow anymore.

"C'mon. If you want me to not get cavities, you better-" I was cut off by the sound of a familiar voice. It was that girl again! I screeched, scrambling around frantically. I didn't want her to see me, but I couldn't be seen, but she was coming! I darted around, running off for the nearest tree to climb up and hide in. Baby Tooth followed me with an amused smirk. She elbowed me and mimicked somebody fainting dramatically. I rolled my eyes. "Quit the act," I muttered, still looking for the girl.

I saw her.

Her head was down, but I could sense it was her. Her soft voice rang through my head. I leaned in as close as I could, trying to hear at least some of her conversation. She wasn't accompanied by the two boys, but a gorgeous girl who was talking animatedly with her. I scowled. Why wouldn't she show her face? Suddenly, I could hear Baby Tooth stifle a sneeze. I gave her a panicked look, but she rolled her eyes, as if to say _they won't see or hear us!_

She sneezed. "God bless!" I shouted, never realizing how loud something as puny as her could sneeze. Suddenly the girl glanced up. I glanced at her, and our eyes made contact. She gaped at me, and I nearly fell out of the tree. She could see me! ME! "Who's that?" she asked her companion, pointing at me. Her friend looked to where she was pointing and rolled her eyes. "There's nobody, Jay. C'mon, let's keep going."

Jay. That was her name.

"You have a nice name!" I shouted as her friend led her away. She stared at me, as if she couldn't believe her friend couldn't see me. But she didn't say anything. All she could do was stare. At me.

Once she was gone, I pumped my fist in the air. "Wooooo!" I shouted, excited for real this time. "She saw me! ME!" I grabbed Baby Tooth and pulled her into a hug. "She was so pretty!" I exclaimed, not bothered by Baby Tooth's teasing smirk. "Her eyes, her hair-"

I was cut short when Jay came running back. I had only realized she had heard what I had just said. I felt the tips of my ears go red as I fled from her sight. "Wait!" she called, but I was too fast for her. I ran until I reached the beach again, and I lay back on my driftwood seat. A sigh escaped my lips. Baby Tooth landed on my stomach and I instantly regretted ever saying stuff like that out loud. I groaned. "I am so stupid…"

Jay's POV:

Ash had said he wasn't there. But I know he was. He had complimented my name. He complimented _me_ in general. Then he had frantically run off. But I know who he was.

My old imaginary friend, Jackson Overland Frost.

As Ash led me to the dining pavilion for breakfast, the thought of Jack almost made me sick. I hadn't seen him in who knows how long, but he was just there. And he wasn't a figment of my imagination. Will and Nico were wrong. Jack Frost was real.

The thought of what he had said made me blush. In my head, Jack was never a romantic! It was weird beyond measure, but I felt flattered. If I had still been five when he told me that, it would have gone over my head, but his voice rang in my head like a church bell. She was pretty! _Her eyes, her hair…_

"Hello-o! Earth to Jayden?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ash. She pointed to the plate in front of me and I looked up, only realizing I was sitting with her and her friends in the Aphrodite cabin. "Eat," she instructed, putting a hand on my head. "You're as skinny as a noodle!" she added teasingly.

I groaned, not really in the mood for food. Then I forgot all about that when I saw the food being handed out. I was practically drooling as girls with green-ish skin milled around holding trays of delicious smelling foods. Then I glanced back at Ash. She motioned for me to get some food.

Maybe this camp isn't as bad as I thought. I mean, I have friends! I'm safe; I have good food to eat…

And Jack is out there, somewhere.

I'll find him, eventually.

* * *

 **YEAH! CHAPPIE FOUR, DONE! I'M AWESOME, AREN'T I?**


	5. Fate is Awesome! Well, it Used to Be

**HEY! I'M BACK WITH A SECOND UPDATE! THE SECOND ONE THIS WEEK IN FACT! SADLY, LEO IS NOT WITH ME. BUT IT'S OK, HE MIGHT COME BACK.**

 **THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED (YOUR REVIEWS ARE VITAL). COOKIES FOR YOU ALL! (::) (::)(::)(::)**

 **WELL, ENJOY THE NEXT CHAPTER OF MY STORY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

I shot up from my spot on the driftwood. Baby Tooth was still fluttering around me, which was very comforting.

After my little pity party for myself, I began to try and clear my head. Baby Tooth caught on to what I was trying to do and brushed her feathers against my cheeks, making me laugh. It was amazing how easily you could just forget about your troubles.

I yawned, still feeling a bit tired. Despite my drowsiness, I wasn't in the mood for sleeping. Sleeping was the least of my worries.

"Hey Tooth," I called out to my little friend. She flew up to me, smiling with delight. "Let's go back to those demigods. We can find out when was the last time they had some serious _fun."_

Baby Tooth chattered excitedly as we flew back to the camp.

The thought of my favourite word almost made me feel better already. _FUN._

I whooped and soared joyously, trying to dodge the trees. I only ran into a branch once or twice, which was a serious record for me. I'm a little clumsy at times, I'll admit that.

Soon the camp was in my line of view. The day was in full swing, with campers busily hurrying around. Many wielded weapons. Some were even in combat! It was definitely very interesting to watch all the activity buzzing around me.

I glanced around. Jay was nowhere in sight. Baby Tooth tapped my shoulder and I spun around. She pointed over to a plain looking wood cabin and I could see why she was excited.

We went over to the two boys juggling bottles and cans of makeup. It was an odd sight, but it struck me that the two of them had stolen all the stuff. They had that 'pranking look' about them, which was an obvious clue. That and the fact that no guy wore that much makeup. I hovered near them. "Nice job!" I called out, but of course they ignored me.

"Oh Travis dude, this is gonna be awesome!" the two laughed as they threw all the makeup-stuff into a two-foot hole they had dug. Baby Tooth giggled. Once the makeup was all in the hole they covered it up. I could barely make out their conversation between their fits of giggles.

The two boys glanced at a nearby doll-house like cabin with stupid grins on their faces. As if on cue, a huge screech erupted from that same cabin. The two boys high-fived each other one more time. "That's our cue to leave!" announced one of them before they raced off into the camp. "Bye!" I shouted back at them, but they didn't answer.

I looked at my bare feet, pitying myself. Baby Tooth landed on my shoulder and rubbed the back of my neck with a tiny hand. I sighed and plopped onto the ground. I lay there, feeling waves of loneliness wash over me. Baby Tooth snuggled against my sweatshirt _. At least she has some empathy_ , I thought. _Fate sucks…_

Jay's POV:

It's official: Fate is awesome.

Here I am, hanging with the popular group! That's like a once in a life time experience for people like _me._ It was like a dream, but I knew for sure it wasn't a dream. My life had taken a turn for what was probably the better.

Ash thought the two of us had a lot in common, but I have to be honest: I was lying most of the time. She would talk to me about makeup-stuff and fashion, which barely made any sense. But I had picked up a lot by living on the streets. I knew how to act.

She would say: "OH! Have you seen the newest clothing line from (insert store here)," and I'd be all like "OH yeah! It just looks so (insert good adjective here)," and it would all be good. She explained to me her parentage, and how she and her siblings always had a knack for fashion stuff. She had complimented me and had even said: "Wow Jayden! You know so much about fashion! I wouldn't be surprised if you were one of us!"

 _One of us._ Fate really was turning out to be amazing!

After breakfast, Ash invited me to her cabin. I obliged without hesitation, but I couldn't help noticing the panicky look in Piper's eyes as we exited the pavilion. "What's up with Piper?" I asked, kicking stray rocks to and fro. Ash just shrugged. "I guess… I guess she just doesn't like me."

"What!?" I asked, stopping dead in my tracks. "How could she not trust you? You seem amazing."

Ash grinned at me. "Thanks. But no matter about Piper. She and her boyfriend, Jason, are going with Annabeth and Percy to Camp Jupiter, another Demigod camp, today. They won't be back until after Christmas. Were free of her mean gaze for almost three months!"

I smiled as we reached the cabin. But my smile was cut short when I saw it: a vibrant pink and chic looking cabin. It reminded me of a doll-house I had gotten when I was 9. _Freaking 9._ I was too old for one of those toys, so I had called over my best friends and we vandalized it together. I remembered my mom's horrified face when she saw the ruined doll-house and the sick grins on all our faces. Then she had laughed it off and helped us vandalise it. Such good times…

But now I entered my doll-house, right before we had vandalised it. I could imagine Jason and Dawn's look of disapproval as they watched me lie my way into such luxury, but I shook it off. This was fun. I forced myself to face Ash as she made her way to a huge vanity. The walls around me were surrounded by posters of ripped shirtless men and celebrities like… what I think was Justin Beiber.

Ash grabbed a bag from the vanity and tossed it to me. I caught it and examined the floral designs on the bag. "Want a makeover?" she asked sweetly. "Mascara would suit you… you need some color in your cheeks! Ooh, maybe even some highlights in your hair!"

I could barely register what she had said. All I could think of was: _Will! Nico! Get me out of here!_ I managed a fake giggle before saying a random excuse and exiting as calmly as I could. Once she was out of my sight, I made a beeline for Will and Nico, who were standing by the arena and chatting casually.

I tried not to pant as I greeted them. Will nodded at me casually. "You guys get rest?" I asked, feeling the agitation leave me as I talked to the two boys. "I see you made a friend?" asked Will. Something about his tone didn't seem right. "Or maybe that _friend_ made her," said Nico sarcastically. Will glared at him, and I saw some color flush Nico's face.

"It's fine, Nico." I said, not really feeling hurt by his comment at all.

"So… I take it you've been seeing things?" asked Will as he slipped a hand into his shorts pocket.  
"Huh?" I asked, scrunching up my face in confusion.  
Will produced a phone from his pocket and showed it to me. "This is a Demi-Phone. Made by Leo himself. They're for demigods and satyrs and nymphs to use only. If we used normal phones to contact each other, the monsters would be able to track us down. So this is our solution."

He paused to let me look at the phone. It looked like a normal iPod. Nothing I haven't seen before. "Connor and Travis Stoll, the Hermes brothers, made a website for demigods. It's like that Facebook thing, except for demigods. Ash updates her status a lot. It's weird. She mentioned your little moment. Something about a weird boy? I dunno. I don't think Ash can be the most honest person at times."

I shook my head at Will's statement. "She spoke the truth."

I could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh. "It's not funny!" I responded, only realizing that it was kind of funny. I smirked, and I could see Nico smiling too. I shook my head, trying to shake off my embarrassment. "Um… Could you guys show me the beach and stuff? Ash said it was too early to do that, but…"

Will coughed, shaking off his laughter. He and Nico led me through the woods and to the beach. I could hear Will humming the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' theme song and I resisted the urge to hum along. My childishness was kicking in.

The two led me down a winding path that sloped downwards. I kicked stray pieces of gravel around, realizing how weird this camp was, in terms of weather when I saw that the trees where green and not in their autumn colors. "How are the trees still green? How can it be so warm at the main camp?" I questioned. Will stopped humming. "Magical boundaries. As simple as that." I nodded and rubbed my hands together.

The beach was pretty, I'll admit. The bluish-grayish waves lapped the sand with minimum force. A few tiny plants stuck out here and there. There was a huge driftwood log in the middle of it all. But the waves really made all of us catch our breath. We ran to the shore line and peered out into the ocean-or-whatever-it-was. A few metres off the shore, huge waves towered over, frozen solid. I gasped and glanced at the boys. They seemed just as nervous and confused as I did.

"OK… should we report this? There was snow, now ice? Something's going on."  
"We have to report it," said Nico, adjusting his grip on his blade. "Let's go now."

We walked away from the beach. Even though I was scared, I never regretted seeing that. It was truly _beautiful._

Jack's POV:

I've been following the two boys around for a while now. I found them to have a lot in common with me, but they didn't know that.

Baby Tooth had flown off somewhere. Maybe checking out teeth, heck I don't know. I could imagine her opening random people's mouths, just to peer at their teeth. Tooth Fairy had done it to me, why can't one of her little 'henchmen' do it to someone else? It was really funny just thinking about that.

I floated up onto the roof of one of the cabins. I plopped down near the edge and hugged my knees. My toes hung over the edge. I groaned. This was my first day in this camp, and I was bored to the death. _Maybe my fate is to rot in here for eternity. Maybe this is all one joke from Bunny. Maybe I should just leave._ I was contemplating leaving, when I thought of Jay again. I still wanted to find a way to talk to her. But I didn't see any idea on how to do that.

Suddenly, the mood in the camp shifted. It was so sudden that even I could feel it. The campers kept whispering and pointing at someone. I swung over the roof and walked through the crowd. Soon they were all in a huge huddle, bowing at a person in the middle. My breath caught as a huge horse-man came galloping through the multitudes of campers. He glanced at the person in the middle of the group. Her dark brown hair covered her face. An image of a vibrant coloured sun floated above her head. It reminded me of the images that popped up above Sandman's head whenever he tried to talk.

The horse-man-creature-thing bowed too. Soon I was the only one standing. Jay wouldn't look at me. I didn't understand what was going on. What was that image above her head?

"All hail Jay Swift. Daughter… of Helios." said the horse-man-creature-thing.

The kneeling campers gasped and whispered amongst themselves. Jay was still looking at her shoes, as if scared of the looks people were giving her. Her two friends who had accompanied her earlier were now by her side. The blond was holding her arm, and the other kid was looking at her as if she was the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle.

The boys led Jay to the horse-guy (I can't say horse-man-creature-thing all the time) who nodded at her. She dared to look up at him, but she still hadn't noticed me. They began to speak, and I noticed a hint of fear in the horse-guy's eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked, forgetting that Jay could, for whatever reason, see and hear me. She glanced in my direction, and by the look she gave me, she looked as if she was about to get a heart attack.

I grinned at her and managed a slight wave.

Jay's POV:

There he was again. The boy scared me! He would just appear or run away. It was kind of creepy.

"Jay? Are you OK?" asked Chiron, glancing at me with a bit of worry in his expression. I tore my eyes away from Jack and turned to Chiron. "I'm fine… just very, very, very confused. And in need of a shower."

I glanced back at the other campers, who had stood up and were eyeing me as if I was an alien. Some kids even gave me looks of disgust. I turned back to Chiron, not wanting to feel their eyes burning into mine. "Who's Helios?" I asked, because apparently, I was a daughter of this person. Hurray. Now I know who my father is. Hurray. And they didn't even tell me his last name. Hurray.

Chiron rubbed his hands together. "This can't be," he muttered. He glanced at the sun, then back at me. "A daughter of Helios? This child? It has to be a joke."

It felt like somebody struck me with a hammer. "Excuse me?"

Chiron shook his head and stroked his beard. "Helios… he isn't even a god. He's a titan. The enemies of the gods. He's the titan of the sun."

* * *

 _He's the titan of the sun,_ I thought as I took a hot shower. Things started to make sense. The sun equals heat. I'm warm, yet I get cold easily.

* * *

"He's not actually a bad titan, Jay." said Ash as she led me to the Helios cabin. "He's neutral. Not a god, but not bad." I nodded as I walked up to the cabin. It was near the woods, with huge floor to ceiling windows. It wasn't the biggest room, but it was definitely bright. An altar lined with yellow cloth stood off to the side. I pointed at it quizzically, and Ash just shrugged. "You're the first daughter of Helios in a long time. I think even the first one to ever stay at Camp Half-Blood! We originally just had this cabin as an honorary shrine kind of thing. But it's all yours."

I shuffled inside, realizing that this was where I'd be sleeping for what would hopefully be the better of my life. I said a quick thanks to Ash as she left, and then crashed onto a bed that was in the corner of the room. It was probably the brightest room I had ever slept in. Despite this, the room was actually really beautiful. The walls were a soft yellow, and the ceiling was painted with intricate pictures of the sun and moon. My bed was in the back corner, right next to one of the floor to ceiling windows, which I really liked. The windows brought with them a sense of freeness, like I was outdoors.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately, dreaming of Jack and my other imaginary friends.

I had completely forgotten about reporting the freakish waves to anybody.

* * *

 **IF THERE ARE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS, I'M REALLY SORRY. IT'S THE MORNING, AND I DON'T HAVE MY GLASSES WITH ME.**

 **IF YOU EVER SEE ANY ERRORS IN MY STORY, PLEASE TELL ME VIA REVIEWS. I WANT MORE REVIEWS!**

 **WELL, YEAH-**

 **WAIT! TRUE FACT ABOUT THIS STORY: JAY'S FIVE BEST FRIENDS? THEY'RE BASED OFF OF MY REAL FRIENDS IN REAL LIFE. AND NO, I DIDN'T RUN AWAY FROM THEM. :3**

 **IN THE STORY, I MENTIONED THEM AS DAWN, JASON, NYSSA, DAN AND GABBY (A.K.A. GUNTHER). THEY KIND OF CHOSE THOSE NAMES, BUT I DID'T TELL THE BOYS WHAT THOSE NAMES WOULD BE FOR :3**


	6. Travis and Connor WHAT?

**Hey guys! New chapter! Yay!  
Well, I got a review from someone named Chiara Dello, who is wondering how Helios could have children, since he 'ceased to exist?' Well, I don't think it was ever mentioned that he 'ceased to exist,' but I can see where you are going with that. He may be slowly fading away (Like Pan). But, take note, Jay is 17, which gives Helios 17 years where he could slowly fade away (If you get what I mean).**

 **Well, thanks for the review! My answer probably didn't explain much. XD But, still, to everyone reading right now:**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

 _You are worthy._

 _I grant you as much blessing as I can._

 _Yet I am weak._

 _You will seem normal._

 _Nothing more._

* * *

Those words floated around in my head. A mysterious, scratchy voice had been whispering into my dreams at night. They had left me confused, yet the voice seemed familiar-comforting almost. I had told Will and Nico, but Nico had assumed that it was just jitters. Even though he said this, he looked uncomfortable. His eyebrows were furrowed, as if thinking the information I had given him more thoroughly.

I could never understand what the voice meant by _normal._ If my month stay here in Camp Half-Blood proved anything, it proved I was not normal. Anything _but_ normal, in fact.

In what little time I had spent at Camp Half-Blood, I have:

-Made it in to the popular group with the help of Ash  
-Learned how to fly a Pegasus  
-Planned pranks with Leo and the Stoll brothers  
-Learned of all the important milestones of the camp  
-And worst of all: I keep having weird sightings of Jack Frost. Yay.

The majority of these things could classify me as a 'weirdo,' not a normal person.

But _yeah_. I've had a heck of an October, and guess what!? It's Halloween! Woo-hoo!

As I rolled out of my bunk, I pondered what to wear for this Halloween. I looked around my messy cabin. There wasn't really anything I could use as a costume. I had a desk I had painted myself, a dresser with one pair of clean clothes, and a bag of makeup from Ash… which was currently keeping my trashcan company. Maybe I could just go as a cat with hand drawn whiskers. I could add red contacts and be a laser-cat too.

I kept in mind my laser-cat idea as I changed out of my pyjamas into my day clothes. Then I walked to the door, whistling an off-key version of 'a Whole New World.' I'm a Disney fan, don't blame me. My hand was on the knob when I heard Leo's loud voice outside. He was talking with Will. I wrenched the door open, and the Latino shrieked obnoxiously.

"Whoa there, Swift! Scare me one more time and this cabin may as well be in burnt ruins!"  
I laughed, stepping outside. "Consider me warned," I answered, watching the mischievous glint in his eye. The three of us began to walk in the direction of the Hades cabin. We were probably going to wake up Nico so we could all go to breakfast together.

Leo managed to keep casual conversation as I watched him slip his hands in and out of his tool-belt, grabbing random machine parts and somehow turning them into something. I'll admit: Leo doesn't make good first impressions. But really, he isn't that bad. He's even more hyper than I am, which I thought wasn't possible.

When I was in middle school with all my good friends, I could never stop drumming. Seriously. My fingers would be constantly drumming, and I think one of my teachers was so ticked off that she was thinking that she should ship me off to military school. I should have been worried.

But now I fit in with all these people. They were my freaks.

We were having a good upbeat conversation, when I saw Ash. She waved at me excitedly. She motioned for me to come over, but her gaze rested on Will. I glanced at the two boys, who had seen Ash and were giving me slight looks of disapproval. I furrowed my brow. "What's up? I mean, you always give Ash a look that means no-good."

Leo shivered, slipping his half built machine into his tool-belt. "Ash just… she's… well… do you know Drew?"  
I stuck my bottom lip out, confused. "Wasn't she that mean girl who liked Jason? Didn't she leave camp for 'a better life?'"  
Will rolled his eyes at my quotation marks. "Yeah. Drew was _awful._ Like… imagine the most annoying thing ever."  
"… for me that would be Donald Duck." I said, imagining the ugly feathered duck with his annoying voice.  
"Mixed with the meanest person or thing ever." Piped up Leo.  
"… So… Donald Duck and Sharpay Evans," I finished, not being able to imagine _that_ as someone who existed.  
"And that's Drew!"

"I still don't see how this corresponds with my friendship with Ash."

Will face-palmed, as if realizing this wasn't really helping him. "Ash is like… she's like the prettier version of Drew."

I smirked teasingly. "Prettier?"  
Will slapped my arm, but he didn't look embarrassed. He seemed disgusted. "Fine. If you wanna go off with Ash, go ahead. See if we care."

Leo was looking at his shoes.

I shook my head. "Bye guys… see you later."

I could see Will's desperate face as I glanced at him. "Sorry," he muttered.

I jogged off to Ash, not believing or heeding any of the boy's warnings.

* * *

"So! Ash! Um… what are you dressing up as for Halloween?" I asked as I watched her paint her nails a vibrant hot pink. She glanced up at me, as if not being able to comprehend anything I had just said. "Huh? Halloween?"  
" _Yeah_. It's today!"

Ash stared at me as if I was the dumbest thing to ever live.

"Um, in case you haven't noticed, I'm 17. Not 5."

I tried not to scoff as Ash continued to stare at me.

I just shook my head. "OK then… we have our differences. You _clearly_ want to grow up, and I'm a child at heart." I paused and inclined my head, watching as Ash slowly lowered her nail polish thing. I was hoping pretty badly that she'd understand. "Sorry that I asked. I guess I'll just be a cat by myself."

Ash glanced at me, and our eyes made contact. She raised her eyebrows a little bit as if she had a good idea, and smiled. She leaped up from her spot on the bed and rummaged through her vanity. She opened a small compartment, and pulled out to headbands adorned with fake cat ears. She handed me one of them, and we both put them on. "You're lucky I like cats. I'll wear this, but don't think of drawing whiskers on my face."

I laughed. "Thanks Ash. You're a good friend."

She grinned back at me.

Jack's POV:

"I'm so bored!"

Bored chattering.

"I agree with you Baby Tooth."

At this point in the story, I'm bored to the _death._ I think I'll just hand the story over to Jay. I know she won't mind.

Jay's POV:

I left Ash's cabin when a few more of her friends came over. I had drawn whiskers and a nose on my face with Sharpie, so now I looked like the girl version of Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil.

I spotted Will and Nico, and I ran up to them excitedly. "Hey guys!"  
Nico and Will nodded. They both mumbled a short greeting. Nico twisted the skull ring around his finger. "Leo wants to talk to you." He said. Then he stood up straight and did a fake salute. "We shall be your guide through the forest, to Bunker Nine!" I smiled at the two boys, and I felt a rush of excitement. Bunker Nine was the hidden bunker hidden in the woods. Leo had found it after it had been missing for a while.

I linked arms with the two of them. Nico looked as if he was trying not to recoil from my touch, and I smirked at him. He glanced at Will, as if waiting for the moment to get revenge, and the two boys charged into the woods at top speed, pulling me in tow. Will began singing, "We're off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of Oz!" as Nico just laughed. I would have laughed too, but I was trying not to trip as the boys pulled me along. I was suddenly regretting linking arms with them.

Fortunately, we reached the Bunker.

Unfortunately, we were winded beyond winded.

The three of us heaved open the big doors to the Bunker. Will led me through the winding maze of workbenches as Nico trailed around lazily behind us. "Leo?" Will asked, his voice echoing eerily. I shook off my amazement and followed his example. "Flame princess!" I called loudly, hoping Leo would hear.

The Latino came limping towards us a few moments later. He had his working goggles on, and was dirty with oil and soot. When he smiled, I vaguely imagined a skeleton on fire. He was lugging a huge sheet of metal across the floor, which made an awful shrieking noise. I resisted the urge to recoil as he let the sheet of metal clatter to the floor. "Hey again!" he spoke cheerily, as if it was his birthday.

"Calyp- _so_!" he called over his shoulder, out into the darkness of the Bunker. Calypso emerged, holding an oil rag. She was wearing her white chiton, but had a pair of denim jeans underneath. She smiled at us. "Hi Will, Nico. Jay." We nodded a greeting to the beautiful girl.

Leo leaned into Calypso, whispering something into her ear. She nodded, and beckoned to me. I stepped up a bit, and Calypso handed me the oil rag. I could tell that there was something wrapped underneath it. Leo stepped up to me too. "It's for you. Open it!" he adjusted his goggles as he waited for me to open the 'present'. "It's not a trick, right?"

Calypso and Leo laughed. I opened the oil rag and inside of it was a… phone.

" _Ta-da!_ " Leo exclaimed, doing jazz-hands for emphasis. "It's a Demigod Phone! Made by _moi._ Since you are a demigod, you definitely need one. Life is just really boring without catching up on the newest episodes of Travis and Connor's web show. They have like, 5 million subscribers on YouTube!"

"Really?" I asked. I never knew Travis and Connor had a web show!

Will smirked, and I cast him a sideways glance. "Dan and Phil. They're really just Travis and Connor in disguise with phony accents."

My jaw dropped. "Dan and Phil? That's them? But… but how?"

"Mist," said Nico, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "It transformed their appearances, and then BAM! They're famous British dudes with loads of Phans."

All I could do was nod. I didn't want to admit that I was a 'Phangirl' too.

Leo laughed and put an arm around my shoulder. "You can figure out how to use this baby yourself. It _is_ basically _'apple,'_ which I can rest assured you know how to use." I glanced at the brand new phone. It did look a lot like an iPod. "Just think of it as a sorry present for… the incident."

Right.

Jack's POV:

I don't know what Jay is doing. I'm still bored! But, I guess you can peek into this door into my life.

It was night time, and from my post at the edge of the woods, I could hear the camper's sing-along pretty loud and clear.

I couldn't spot Jay, sadly. She was probably off with her friends. Without me. I shook that off, just trying to find something to do. Maybe I could find Connor and Travis! I zoomed around camp, hoping to catch a glimpse of them (and maybe Jay), but I couldn't find either of them.

I flew in zigzag's around the camp. The campers were slowly dispersing from the campfire, and I was starting to get desperate. I started calling Jay by name. "Jay?" I called out. For some reason, I felt an awful churning in my gut. I was feeling the emptiness again. The awful feeling that could bring me down. "Jay!?" I shouted, running through the campers. Many of them started complaining and pointing at the sky, and that's when I realized I had made it snow.

I was tempted to shout at the winds to take me home, but then I remembered Baby Tooth. She was probably the only person I could trust to keep me company right now. I wanted to go back to Burgess, I wanted to see Jamie again! But now I was stuck here, hopelessly chasing down fate.

I had been calling for hours. The campers were long gone now, and the campfire was nothing but a sizzle of smoke. Weird flying women started to patrol the area, and I was suddenly wishing I had somebody like Sandman by my side.

I crouched against the nearest cabin, clutching my staff. The wall of the cabin slowly started freezing over. I continued to call out, but my voice was faint and distant.

"Jay…"

Jay's POV:

I can hear him. I know it's Jack, but I can't bring myself to go out there. I heard enough stories of the harpies that would tear apart the campers if they stayed up past curfew. But he sounds so desperate, it's almost scary.

For half the night, I just sat by my huge windows, hoping to see any sign of him. His voice was growing fainter, and I could tell he was tired. I wanted to help. I just couldn't. _Coward,_ I thought. _You are such a coward._

Now let me tell you, hearing a voice in your head call you coward for more than one hour straight can get you pretty ticked off. Before I knew it, I was marching out the door, calling out to Jack too. I'm an idiot, I know. A cowardly idiot.

Being the stupid girl I am, the harpies found me pretty fast. They surrounded me like a flock of pigeons surround a hamburger. Now I was the one calling, not Jack. "Jack! JACK!" I shouted, but I'm pretty sure my voice was drowned out by the screeching harpies. One of the chicken-ladies looked just about ready to tear my insides out, but for some reason, once she smelled me, she looked disgusted.

"The Helios child! She is a threat to the gods. She must be banished!" the other harpies agreed.

"Whoa whoa _whoa!_ " I shouted as they lifted me up. I could feel their sharp talons digging into my shoulders. "That is _extremely_ racist!" I complained. Don't blame me. Racism is bad.

Soon enough, I was being carried twenty feet off the ground by a bunch of chicken ladies, and we were heading straight for the beach. The air was getting colder, much, colder, yet I managed to breathe it. Which is weird, because I remember in the first few chapters, I was freezing my face off as if I was in Antarctica.

Suddenly, I understood the voice from my dreams. That voice… surely it was Helios! He was weak… He would make me seem normal. With what little power he had left, he had given me a chance to not-be-freezing, if you know what I mean. I now had a regular body temperature. And now I was going to lose my normal-ness (I need to update my vocab) and die to the hand of a bunch of harpies. Yay.

We were past the beach now. We were out on the ocean. If I turned around and managed to see past the harpies' grotesque faces and feathers, I could see the shoreline, but very faintly. The waves were dark, despite the fact that the moon reflected brightly off of them. I was still cold, but I couldn't dwell on that. I was hoping for miracles right now.

I tried to shoo my fear away and summon up what little courage I had left. I knew how to swim. If the harpies' _did_ drop me, I could manage to swim back, but they were heading farther and farther out. They would have to drop me now. "LET ME _GO_!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs. The chicken-ladies immediately dropped me, which was definitely relieving. I was tempted to do my mid-air victory dance, but then I hit the water.

You have to cut me some slack for this. I'm no Percy Jackson. I can't just tell the temperature of water by looking at it.

But the water? Was _freezing_. So _freaking_ freezing!

I literally froze. My muscles wouldn't work. My senses were numbed. My head went under, but only then did I realize what was going on. I was too cold to swim. I was going to die. The murky darkness suddenly didn't seem that scary anymore. I had accepted my fate. But still, part of me wasn't sure I wanted to end like this. I'd miss Ash, and Will, and Nico, and Leo and Calypso! I'd never really have a full conversation with the rest of the seven. I'd never understand why I was being followed around by Jack Frost.

Jack… he was the only one who could save me now.

Jack's POV:

Jay was being taken away. I know it! She had been calling me, and then the crazy chicken-ladies had snatched her up in a flurry of feathers. I did the only thing I could do at the moment. I followed them.

I followed them to the ocean, and I watched them drown Jay. At that point, I wanted to scream and give them some serious frostbite. But Jay was down there, _dying._

I dove into the water to save her.

I couldn't feel the cold, which was a relief. But I couldn't see Jay. The water was eerily calm, which meant Jay probably wasn't moving. The thought of that really scared me, and being scared is something I don't get a lot.

 _Man in the Moon,_ I prayed. _A girl is drowning. It's pitch black down here. I can't find her, and I don't want her to die the way I did. Please, Man in the Moon, help this girl._

The moonlight suddenly illuminated the waves. I could see Jay, a few feet away. Her eyes were closed, and she was slowly sinking. I swam towards her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her as close to me as I could. Then I swam upwards. My head broke the surface moments later, followed by Jay. I flew her to the shore, breathing heavily. I lay her next to my driftwood log.

I coughed up a bit of water, and waited for the world to stop swimming. Suddenly Baby Tooth was by my side, fussing over me and chattering angrily as if she was my mom. I was relieved that she was back, but Jay was the only problem on my hands right now.

I crawled over to her, trying to figure out a way to help her. I grabbed her wrist, looking for a pulse. It was there. She would live! Baby Tooth hovered over Jay, letting her wings fan her face. I was glad I had Baby Tooth with me, cuz' I don't have anything I could fan her with.

Baby Tooth and I watched over her like this for about ten more minutes, and I was starting to get worried. I had begun pacing, wondering, _when would she wake up?_ At this point in time, I was contemplating giving her mouth-to-mouth, which was really disgusting. Luckily, she chose that time to wake up.

It was kind of creepy. Like, she was just lying there, as if she was about to die at any second. And then suddenly, she just shot up so fast that it scared me. I was hoping that she'd praise me for saving her, but she was too busy trying not to laugh at me as I shrieked and tripped over my driftwood log. _Dang it…_

She coughed a bit as I got up, and I watched as she sat up and hugged her knees. I could tell she was trying not to stare too much at me. She'd glance at me every few seconds, as if she couldn't believe I was real. _I bet this must be a wonderful first impression…_ I decided to break the silence.

"So… are you gonna _thank_ me any time soon?"  
Her eyes widened slightly, and I realized how pretty they were. Dark, like chocolate, yet warm and playful. And not to mention very pretty. Wait…

She smirked, but I could tell she was holding back on something. "Thanks… Jack."

I kind of just stood there, gaping at her. "… You… you know my name?"

She laughed playfully. "Surely you know mine! If you did, I don't see why you should be surprised with me knowing yours." I glanced at her, and she looked proud.

"I guess you're right," I said. "Jay," I added, just to make sure we were even.

Then I stood up and plopped onto my driftwood log. She turned to face me, and our eyes made contact. I was hoping I didn't look like a freak, but let's face it. The both of us were sopping wet, so we must both look _awful._ I shook that thought of and pointed a finger at her. "Now explain. How… how can you see me?"

Her eyebrows rose, as if she was just noticing me for the first time. She cast a long glance at my staff, and I tried not to roll my eyes. This girl was clearly a geek. "Well, I was hoping you'd have the answer, but I take it you don't. So I don't really know."

"Well, um, then, how do you know my name?"

She laughed and slowly rose from her spot on the sand. "It's a long story that you do _not_ need to know." Her smile was genuine and comforting, and I realized that this was my first time seeing her face-to-face. I studied her features; her long, tangled dark brown hair, her fair complexion. I noticed that I was half a head taller than her. I could see that underneath her rough expression, there was a loving girl. That loving girl had already started to show.

"Well, Jay, nice meeting you. Up close and personal, I mean. Because, you know, we've met before-"

"Bye Jack."

I watched her disappear into the woods.

* * *

 **Well wasn't that awkward? it was even awkward for me, because I am awful at writing about when people meet for the first time.**

 **But wait! Can you hear that? is that... the sounds of a challenge where you guys can send in ideas (via reviews) for memories Jay can have about her friends?**  
 **That's exactly what that is!**  
 **I will let you guys send in ideas for 'memories' that Jay can look back on from time to time throughout the story. I've already mentioned some, and they all mention her best friends (Gabby/Gunther, Nyssa, Dan, Dawn and Jason).**  
 **Of course, your ideas can't change the course of the story (Let's avoid killing off Jay while we still can...). And I swear, if anybody put's some romance I will-**

 **Sorry. This will take a hit on me since these people are based off of my friends in real life. But I'm being nice, so definitely consider this challenge.**

 **So yeah. I'll come back soon, with the next chapter of:**

 **HE OF FROST AND SHE OF SUN...**


	7. An Unexpected 'Death'

**Hi! Willowleaf the Jedi here with a new chapter of the story! Wooooo!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

"Jay- _ay_!"

 _Ugh. I'm still tired!_

"Wake up!"

 _Five more minutes…_

"If you don't wake up, I can give you a makeover in your sleep and-"

"I'm up!" I practically shouted, rolling out of my covers as Ash hovered over me, a triumphant look on her face. I snorted, giving her my best _you-are-gonna-get-it_ face.

She whisked away to my desk, and grabbed the hairbrush she had given me. Then she absentmindedly walked back to me and started brushing my rat's-nest excuse for hair. I could already imagine her singing 'a happy little working song.' I stuck out my lips when she wasn't looking, but I wasn't gonna start regretting my life choices any time soon. I'm stubborn like that, or so I've been told.

I continued to groan. "Ash, it's seven in the morning. Why, on _earth_ , are we up?" I complained. Ash laughed good-naturedly as she subconsciously checked her reflection in my cracked (long story as to why it was like that) mirror. "Archery practice with William." She explained. "We have identical schedules, in case you've forgotten." She added, as if to rub in my habit of forgetting.

I felt momentary confusion. "Who's William?"  
"Will Solace. Isn't that his real name?"  
I shrugged, not being able to imagine Will with a more formal name like _William._ Ash just smiled, putting my brush down. She glanced at me suddenly, and I could tell she was masking some worry behind her charming smile. Ash's emotions were easy to detect, but she probably didn't know it.

"Do I look OK?" she asked.

The question took me by surprise. "Huh- Of course you look OK! You always look great!" I exclaimed, not believing a girl as pretty as her could be so self-conscious. Suddenly I understood why she asked me that.

I stood up on my bed, jumping on the mattress excitedly. "You like him, don't you?!" I asked, my head accidentally touching the ceiling. Ash blushed like crazy. "I do not-"  
"You do! You really do!" I laughed, flopping back down onto my bed like a dog. "Ash likes Will! Ash like-"

She clamped a hand over my mouth.

She gave me an urgent, pleading glare. "Please don't tell," she said. She seemed terrified. I just stared at her. I had always seen Ash as this confident person, and this was really taking me by surprise. "Um, I guess. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks."

We walked out my cabin door, and headed off to archery practice.

The archery arena looked pretty normal. A large area closed off by brick walls that only reached the height of two feet. There were targets all the way at the far side, and at our side, there was a shed full of equipment. A pretty lame arena, if you ask me. Ask Leo too, the kid is not easily impressed when it comes to buildings.

"First things first!" Will cried out to the assembled group of campers. He was scowling slightly, and the sun made his blond hair look like it might be on fire. Some of the girls from other cabins looked like they were trying not to swoon. I was trying not to barf at them.

"I want you all to choose a bow to use!" his voice echoed throughout the training area, and rolled off the hills. We all just kind of stood there. He motioned towards the shed, and half the campers bolted forward, hoping to get a good looking bow. Ash was one of them. I was not.

I think Ash was trying to get Will's attention by doing that, but Will ignored her (as always) and came up to _me_ instead. I guess that's just what good friends do! _Ash is gonna kill me…_ _OK Jay. It's not his fault. It's not Will's fault. He doesn't know._

"Hey Jay!" he said casually. I cast a glance at Ash, who seemed like she was trying not to care. I'm surprised I've never seen that look on her face before, but I don't question her.

"Do you like archery, so far?" Will asked me. He was wearing his normal clothes, his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt; his gym shorts; and his green flip-flops. Definitely not surgeon or archery protocol.

I watched as the line to get bows and arrows was slowly thinning out into a proper line, not a huge mob.

"Well, I've only learned, well, nothing, so yes. This is fun." I concluded.

Will shoved me playfully.

I heard Ash cough, and I realized she was only a few feet away from us. I muttered something and headed off to get a bow. Turns out, I got the last bow. I grabbed a quiver, but all the arrows in it were splintered and broken. I grabbed another. There was only one arrow, but it was in better shape than the others. I jogged back to Ash, clutching my bow and quiver.

Will shouted out a few instructions like, "Hold on to the bow tightly!" and "Pull the string of that bow until you think it's gonna break!" He grabbed his own bow and pulled it back; getting his body into the position he had instructed us to follow. Ash looked very uncertain about this, so I let her copy my stance.

Will walked by the both of us, complimenting us. Ash flashed him a smile, but he walked past her obliviously. I shook my head. This was too hopeless. Will was _never_ going to fall for Ash. I knew him too well.

Will shouted out one last command, and I noticed that he was now crouching by the shed. He must have had some serious problems last practice. Maybe he was scared. "Now aim, and FIRE!" he shouted out the last word with so much force that I heard a camper yelp.

Dozens of campers let loose their arrows. Almost all of them managed to go to the far side. One person even got a bull's-eye, and her arrow was now in the centre ring of one of the targets. Well, I, _mine_ was the only one that hit the ground two feet in front of me.

You might be laughing now, which I get. All of the campers were doing it now, even Ash, which kind of hurt. But I couldn't dwell on that. I whipped my head around, my eyes searching for the white-haired boy who had scared me out of my wits.

"Looking for me?" called a voice above. I glanced up, only to see Jack casually resting on his staff, treating it like it was a park bench. He had a smirk on his face, and all the memories of the events of last night popped into my brain. I vaguely remembered my brain telling me to stay calm and all that, which of course I had followed. Now I didn't have time to follow my brain. I glared at him, and he just rolled his eyes. "You remind me of the Easter Bunny, sometimes. It's not exactly a bad thing, not exactly a good thing."

I scowled as Jack touched to the ground in front of me. "Oh-no, not the frown! What happened to that kind girl I saved last night?" he called. I could sense a bit of emotion in his voice.

I clenched my fists as I walked towards my arrow, thinking of a good retort I could fire-back at him. "Well, Jack, that girl was sopping wet and half- _drowned,_ so you really couldn't blame her."

I snatched up my arrow.

"Now please, _Jokul Frosti_ , could you let me learn archery in peace?" I asked snarkily, trying to ignore the weird stares that were given to me by the campers. I had only just remembered that I was the only one who could see Jack. Jack seemed hurt by what I had just said. "Jokul Frosti? C'mon, I thought this was a camp for Greek gods and goddesses children only, not _Vikings!_ "

Suddenly I was feeling even more hurt. "Not all of us are children of the gods."

Jack didn't get it at first. I watched as the confusion in his expression slowly turned into understanding, then guilt. "Right. Daughter of Helios." He muttered, as if that was a good enough apology. _At least he's kind enough to understand._

He coughed suddenly, raising one of his palms. A snowflake appeared, and the other campers noticed it too. Some shrieked and shouted: "It's Khione!" But seriously, what is up with them and this said snow goddess?

Jack raised an arm, and the snowflake came my way. I tried not to smile, but trying was pretty much useless. I let it rest on my nose, and I watched as it began to melt almost instantly.

Jack watched the snowflake melt. "Who is Helios anyways?"  
"The sun god."

Jack looked horrified. It was funny: his eyes were wide like saucers, and his jaw dropped to the ground. He nearly fell off his staff.

"What?" I asked. I didn't want him to be racist too.

Suddenly, I felt something sharp bang against my ribcage. I glanced to my left. Ash was giving me a look that clearly said, _are you crazy or what?_

"The _sun_ god?" Jack shrieked, his eyes widening even more.

I did my best to ignore him for the rest of practice.

Jack's POV:

Ok. I don't mean to sound desperate and needy, but I'm feeling desperate. Jay was my one shot at a new friend, but she's the daughter of the sun god! The sun! And I _need_ a new friend. One that actually _looks_ my age. Sure, I love Jamie and his friends, but I'm 318 years old, and I've never had a friend that was 17 or 18 _ever_.

And now Jay was trying to ignore me!

It's that girl she hangs out with. She's brain washing her, isn't she! I've hung around with kids for so long, that I may as well be a kid psychologist. I've seen this before. Jay just _thinks_ that the girl is just being a good friend, but I know for sure that's not how friendship works.

I followed Jay as she exited out of the archery arena. For once, she wasn't flanked by any of her friends, so I took that as a time to talk to her. "Hey!" I called out to her. She glanced at me, but this time she didn't do a double-take. She sighed. "Now what?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Well, it's about that girl you hang out with-"

"Ash?" she asked critically. Her eyebrows were arched perfectly. Not that I cared.

"Uh, yeah." _Probably._

Jay stopped walking and scowled. "Why does everyone have a problem with Ash? Seriously, even Will and Nico, and not to mention Leo, are all on your side. I just don't get you guys!" she paused, tucking a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.

"Now, just don't take it personal, but Ash isn't a good person to be friends with."

"Oh really now! Just prove it!" she shouted, which was probably an awful idea since we were in the middle of the camp, and campers were just staring at _her_. Her lips twisted into a scowl when she noticed this, and she began to walk off into the woods. I floated over to her, and touched down onto a rock in front of her.

"I've hung with kids for a really, really, _really,_ long time."

"Well that sure explains a lot." She muttered. I tried my best to ignore that. "Look. You are _not_ , I repeat not, my mom. Or my friend, for that matter."

"Gee, my feelings _totally_ aren't hurt," I muttered sarcastically, crossing my arms.

"So could you please escape my life? It's like a huge figment of my imagination just became a Disney movie. And I don't like singing, so this is a _problem_."

I couldn't help but smirk at how snarky she was. She could totally be my bestie, but I got a feeling that she wasn't _exactly_ happy about me flying up in her face. Which to me meant that I should keep doing exactly that.

"Well, I understand that you don't like me. But, you are just too… childish to forget me. That's probably the reason you can still, miraculously, see me."

She looked at me as if to say: _You've-probably-been-dropped-as-a-baby-and-you're-head-is-full-of-feces,_ which is an expression I've only ever seen on Bunny.

Before I could try and rephrase what I had said, Jay had run off, back into the camp. Leaving me to sit my sorry-butt down onto a lifeless rock in the middle of a bunch of trees. Yay.  
"She probably thinks I'm a freak, which, surprisingly, _isn't_ surprising," I muttered to the nearest tree. Surprisingly, the tree answered by letting a green girl melt out of its bark-WAIT _WHAT_!?

My day has suddenly become weirder.

The green girl studied me, and I did the same. Light auburn hair up to her waist, braided down the side with flowers that I couldn't name. Green eyes and pale-ish green skin, like she was half-plant, which was probably true because, well, she just stepped out of a tree. She was wearing a yellow dress up to her ankles, and walked around barefoot, like me. She had an impish smile on her face, yet she seemed gentle, and, not very… impish.

She laughed at me, which meant she probably saw the terrified look on my face as I hopped off the rock and stumbled into a patch of moss. She walked over to me calmly, offering a hand to help me up. I shrugged it off, standing up by myself. We stood about five inches apart, and I realized she was nowhere near the same height as me, maybe five inches shorter. I tried not to freak out. "Who are you?" I asked, trying to sound confident.

The green girl laughed some more, but it seemed more restrained, as if she had a 'frog' in her throat (It's a cool expression I heard from Jamie). "I'm Lillian. Lily for short." She spoke and acted so calmly that I wasn't surprised she had come out of a tree. Trees see a lot, in their lives, I guess. They've probably endured many situations like this.

"Oh," I replied, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. This girl seemed so young and full of life, but that life seemed, inhuman. Slow, and steady. Different.  
"My name is-"

"Jack Frost. I know. I've been chatting with your friend, Baby Tooth. You seem _very_ interesting." She stretched out the word 'very' just to emphasize. Which I _totally_ get.

"Um, I can't help but ask, but-"

"You're wondering how I came out of the tree? I'm a nymph, a tree spirit if you will. That tree's life is connected to mine. It dies, I go with it."

She said it really casually, which kind of freaked me out. It was like she had read my mind, then gave me the answer I was looking for in the weirdest way possible.

"So you're a winter spirit, huh. I'd ask you to show me your tricks, but I don't want my tree to freeze," she explained kindly. I couldn't help it: I smiled. Lily somewhat reminded me of Tooth Fairy.

Lily cast a glance at my shepherds' staff. "That's some fine craftsmanship, that staff. Where d'you get it?" she asked nonchalantly, examining her fingernails as if there wasn't a care in the world. I coughed awkwardly, unsure of the answer to her question. "I just… kind of woke up with it. I've had it with me for 300 years now." I brought the staff closer to me, suddenly scared that Lily might try to take it.

She nodded, her green eyes sparkling. But all too soon, her beautiful orbs turned a murky, gray, and she fell to the forest floor with a groan, clutching her stomach. Her tree's bark slowly withered and turned black. The leaves began to fade away.

She was _dying_. I had just met her a mere two seconds ago, and she was dying.

"Lily!" I shrieked, rushing over to her. I fell onto my knees, dropping my staff and desperately trying to hoist the nymph onto the rock I had been sitting on. More nymph's began to melt out of the nearby trees, and even from the rock, murmuring nervously as I helped Lily.

"Life or death," One of the nymph's muttered. Her hands were clasped together, as if to say a prayer. My hands scrambled around, looking for the reason for Lily's fall. "C'mon, c'mon!" I cried out to no one in particular. But one nymph stepped forward. She looked much younger, probably the same age as Cupcake.

Her hands shook as she came up to me. There were tears shining in her green eyes. "Lily, she is the eldest. Her tree has stood at Camp Half-blood for centuries. If she is to die, then you must let her accept her fate."

Now my hands were shaking too. My day was getting worse, first Jay rejecting me, and now this nymph was dying in my arms.

Except, she wasn't dying.

Her eyes opened suddenly. The wood spirits began to murmur, and the one who had spoken to me had fled the scene entirely. "Lily! You're alive!" I cried out, relieved. "You're-"

Her nimble hands were fastened around my throat.

Her now gray eyes sparkled with anger. Her hands began to shake, but her grip stayed strong. I gagged, trying to get her off. Even though she was holding my neck, she wasn't squeezing. Maybe it was just some freaky warning.

Then she spoke, her words raspy and not very Lily-like. _"The girl, the prophecy! The dragon waits in these woods. Be warned of her end, be warned!"_

She let loose one guttural scream, before passing out in my arms.

* * *

 **Hi again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm losing my schedule. :(**

 **Well, I was celebrating the holidays, and working on projects, and watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was really awesome, and I'll admit, I was crying when (cough-cough-I-don't-want-to-give-spoilers.)**

 ***Sighs with hand over heart* Well, that challenge was evidently a flop. You guys are still open to give in suggestions, and they will be in the story. Or the possible 'sequel.' Possible.**

 **Random question time: Who will be the guest star for the next chapter? It can be someone from RotG, or PJO or whatever. Send me your answers in the reviews!**


	8. The Truth About Nico di Angelo

**Hi! New chappie! Yay!**

 **Warning: If you are uncomfortable with the fact that Nico is gay, don't read anything after the words: TIME SKIP.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

At some time in my life, I would have questioned my existence, and my purpose. And let me tell you, that was the worst thing _ever_. And now, I was reliving that.

Lily had just been, heck I don't know, _possessed_ by… something. The girl could be dead, and all the nymphs surrounding us could do was stare! How rude is that!?

I'm going hysterical, I know it.

Lily's skin had faded to a pale, almost grey color. Her eyes were closed, as if she was asleep, but her lips were clamped shut in a tight frown. I tried feeling her forehead, but I felt nothing but cold. And the cold was obviously coming from me.

We needed help.

I whipped my head around to face the other nymphs, who were cowering and whimpering like, well, cowards. The wind began to blow, whipping my frosty-white hair around my face. I glared at them, all of them. "Well? Don't just stand there! I can't be seen by them!" I exclaimed angrily, motioning in the direction of the camp. "One of you, go get HELP! Your friend is dying!"

About a dozen of them rushed off (probably out of fear), and I turned back to face Lily. I felt a knot forming in my stomach. I was suddenly feeling… scared. That was a feeling I hadn't felt ever since… ever since I thought I could never be seen again. I guess that since that fear never came true, I had a new one. I was becoming too easily attached to the people that could see me. I wanted to protect them.

And there was something else. The way her eyes just… transformed. They reminded me of Pitch's eyes; they both had that same, clouded, murky gray gaze. And her voice was just so… it sounded inhuman, like, like as if one of Santa's Yetis had fallen underwater and were slowly drowning, and screaming for help. Except Lily wasn't screaming, but heeding me warnings. Yikes. Talk about a voice you can't describe.

I heard footsteps pounding heavily on the forest floor. Voices echoing fear and worry, and suddenly, a group of about six campers being escorted by the nymphs, looks of horror on their faces as they saw Lily's condition. I recognized two of Jay's friends, the blond boy and the goth. The goth had his black blade drawn, as if expecting danger. The blond was dressed casually, but his lips were in an uptight frown, which I totally get.

The campers rushed forward, and two hoisted Lily up and began bringing her back to the camp. "Hey! You're welcome!" I called out matter-of-factly, doing my best to shoulder my way out of the campers. I hated that feeling of somebody passing through me. It felt like a punch to the gut.

The nymphs were still staring at me as the campers left. They were all silent, as if they were pleading me to tell them something. I scowled and picked up my staff. A few snowflakes fell to the ground – I was feeling angry. "At least you guys can see me," I muttered, leaping up to get a head start.

I flew off in the direction of the camp. I knew immediately who I was looking for: Jay.

Jay's POV:

Jack calls me childish, and he expects me to be his friend? Like seriously, what is going on!?

I'm going hysterical, I know it.

The sun is going down. My cabin, since it has no light fixtures, is getting dark. But I'm not afraid of the dark. The sun will come back up in the morning. The moon will protect me for now.

I try to focus my thoughts on ways to kill Jack.

I know pretty much all the basics about him: He's the immortal being that brings winter. He has a staff. The Vikings called him Jokul Frosti. He has white hair and blue eyes. Very pale. He may or may not die today.

He's almost exactly like I imagine him, actually. He dresses the same, acts the same. OK, maybe my imaginary friend Jack didn't 'flirt' as much. Both versions of him had hopeless cases of stupidity, which was for sure.

This Jack seems to have problems explaining things. He was going too fast, which resulted in me abandoning him. _Gee, isn't that what friends are for?_ I tried shaking off the guilt that was slowly building up in me. Jack probably had cooler friends, and why was he here in the first place? Maybe I could have one last conversation with him. I was too curious.

I hopped off my bed, leaving my new phone on my desk. I opened the door, wondering how on earth I could find the guy, when I realize he's standing right in front of me. My eyes widen, but for once, I don't scream or shriek. He smirks down at me. "And so she's back!" he exclaims casually. I try not to groan. _Maybe this was a bad idea… too late to turn back now._ I grit my teeth together, forcing a fake smile. I keep my hands behind my back, but I'm not holding back anything. I don't know why I'm doing this, I'm just acting like I'm around Ash. But Jack notices the act immediately.

"Quit the act Jay, I'm not that Ash kid."

"Thank _god_ ," I exclaim sarcastically, but really I'm relived beyond relief. Acting isn't always that fun… which makes me wonder why I'm friends with Ash anyways. But I shake that off. I just have to focus on this moment right _now_.

I was praying he'd talk first, and I thank anyone who answered my prayer.

Jack spread his hands. "Look. About five minutes ago I messed up on what I was trying to say, probably freaking you out or something." He tried for another smile. "So, can we pretend that never happened and start over?" his voice was pleading.

Now I was probably going to kill _myself_.

"I don't remember any of that ever happening," I replied, smiling a bit. I caught him staring at my mouth, and I only remembered that I had lost my tooth (courtesy of the pavement).

Jack let out a sigh of relief, and I only just realized that he had been tense the whole time. _Jack is more worried than I thought._ But why? Could he… (I can't mention the unthinkable, because it is also unmentionable)

Gah.

Jack offered me his hand, waiting for me to shake it. "I'm Jack!" he exclaimed cheerfully. I glance past him, to make sure no one is staring at me talking to myself. Coast is clear. "Jay," I say, letting him shake my hand. His hand is freezing cold, but at the same time really soft and familiar.

"So!" I say as I worry about getting frostbite. "Why can't anybody see you but me?"

 _What are you still doing in my life?_ Is _probably_ the more important question though.

"Well, that's a bit tricky to explain." He smiled even wider, as if trying to blind me with his pearly white teeth. " _I_ , am a Guardian. A person… err, ' _being'_ chosen by the Man in the Moon-" Jack pointed at the sky, and I realized that it was getting darker by the second. The campfire would be starting soon. "-to protect children who believe in us Guardians."

I tried not to try and strangle him. I don't know why. Maybe I was just sick of doing things in a flurry of anger. Maybe I was sick of lashing out at weirdos. Maybe I wanted a new friend.

"You said Guardian with an 's' at the end. Who else is a Guardian?" I asked, folding my hands behind my back so that I looked like a detective or something. Jack shifted his weight to his left foot, and I realized he was still carrying his super-awesome staff. "Oh, well, there's me. I'm the newest member of the crew. Joined maybe… this year? I don't exactly remember. But there's also the Tooth Fairy – you probably remember the little hummingbird creature sometimes following me around?"

He paused for a split-second, giving my brain enough time to remember the little fairy.

"That's one of her little helpers."

I vaguely recalled losing my tooth when escaping the police, shivering abruptly at the memory.

"And-"

"That's enough, Jack." I mumbled, my gaze now fixated on the sudden hustle of campers – Will and Nico included – rushing towards the Big House. Jack caught my gaze, and we both stared at them. "What's wrong?" I asked, not really expecting Jack to have an answer.

Surprisingly, he did.

"One of the forest nymphs passed out." He coughed, and I noticed his cheeks were dusted with a bit of color. _He's somehow tied to that,_ I thought. But I wasn't gonna start prying. I just met the boy for Pete's sake.

I turned around to face Jack. He was still staring in the direction of the campers, looking mopey. "Look," I mumbled, getting his attention. "I'm sorry about, well, me running off earlier. I'd love to hear more of your side of the story, but-"

"Your two boyfriends?" he asked, his face now back to the same color, and his smile permanently implanted into the back of my mind. I rolled my eyes, feeling my cheeks go warm. "They're just friends, and yes, I'm going to them."

He laughed, a clear, happy noise that rang in the air. "Pleasure finally talking to you in a civilized way," he said mockingly. I rolled my eyes some more. "Ditto." I agreed.

About five minutes ago, I would of just left, and I probably would have left Jack for the rest of my life. But he seems cool. Figuratively and literally. He's not much of a pain as I thought he was. I don't know what drove me to say this but I said this: "Maybe you can tell me another time?"

His eyes widened in delight.

I walked off before he would start kissing me.

Jack's POV:

Finally!

She said she'd talk to me another time!

I was tempted to fly up and scream to the heavens: WOOOOOOOOOO! NOW I MIGHT HAVE A FRIEND! But I didn't, surprisingly.

I managed to keep my cool, and my sanity.

Jay's POV:

Thank the gods jack didn't follow me. Now that the Jack problem was out of the way, I had to see what was going on with Will, Nico and the others. No distractions-

"Hi Jay!"

Ash.

"Um, hi. Sorry, I've got to go. Will and Nico need me." I mumbled. What is it with me and mumbling today?

I walked off before Ash could say anything more. I don't know why, I know it's mean. But I just do it.

I jogged off to the Big House.

I burst into the house, only to come face to face with Mr. D. The fat wine god was holding a glass of sparkling wine, and had a scowl on his face. He regarded me with disgust. "Come to see the nymph girl eh? Wonstopyou!" He must have been drunk, because I couldn't understand that last little sentence. The words all slurred and blended together.

I stepped into the house and headed for the infirmary.

Nico was hanging by the doorway, his face looking even paler. All the other campers I had seen earlier had left, other than Will, Nico, and a few Apollo campers. I nodded a greeting at the skinny Italian, who gave me a curt nod. "What's going on?" I asked, purposely lowering my voice.

The Apollo campers scampered around one hospital bed, and I only just noticed the nymph. Nico glanced at me worriedly, a face that seemed all too familiar. "That nymph Lily? She passed out. Her skin became all gray and, well, death-like, and then she just passed out. Some nymphs mentioned her speaking something to some strange white-haired boy, almost choking him, but I don't believe in strange white-haired boys."

I passed a laugh, but something struck me. That boy was probably Jack, who else in this camp had white hair?

Nico brushed something I couldn't see off of his black aviator jacket. "I can't tell if she's dead," he mumbled, as if foretelling what I was just about to tell him. Of course, him being Nico, he was correct.

"How can you not tell? I thought you could tell when people died." I replied. Nico seemed to regard me warily. "Well, she's connected to a plant. It's harder to tell those lives. Possible, but hard."

He folded his hands behind his back. Sometimes, it's hard to imagine Nico being fifteen. He seems older, much older, which is kind of true. I know his backstory, thanks to Will and a fake game of Truth or Dare. Nico was a goth, and he may be seventy, not fifteen, but he was still my friend.

We watched from one of the sick beds as Will and the others worked. After a while, Will joined us. His stunning smile was replaced with a hard, determined scowl, and he was sweating a bit. He squished into the tiny space between me and Nico, almost shoving me off the bed. I resisted the urge to laugh.

"How's Lily?" asked Nico. He had that classic, hard scowl on his face which pretty much summed up Nico: a frown. Will had told me that Nico was like that. I had accepted it immediately- that could have been me in an alternate universe. The goth, not the child.

"Lily's not dead." Will stated, folding his arms up against his chest. Judging by his facial expression, he looks extremely tired, something I haven't seen on Will in a very long time. I placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling them shrug up and down, like they do when you're tired or out of breath. I never realized how pressuring and stressful it might feel to be treating somebody ill. "Will, why don't you rest? I know you're the top doctor and all, but seriously, you're _tired_."

" _Yeah_ ," muttered Nico, who was giving Will pained stares of concern.

After a little argument, Nico and I managed to get Will to limp off to his cabin. The two of us walked him out to the porch, just to make sure he was doing what we instructed him too.

TIME SKIP

Later that night, I couldn't sleep.

I snuck out to the woods, not expecting anybody to be out there. Surprisingly, Nico was there. He was sitting on a rock, shoulders shaking slightly. At first, I thought he was getting possessed (yeah Jay, because being _possessed_ is the only _logical_ answer), but then I heard his sobs.

At first, I watched him, just to see how long it would go on. I knew that Nico liked to be left alone; it was a miracle that he called me his _friend_.

But the better part of me (that helped me drown to 'save' Jack) walked up to him and sat down beside him. I stayed silent, not expecting Nico to see me through the black hair covering his face. But then the boy said, "You know, I'm the only one who can pull off the silent trick."

Smart boy.

"Nico, what's wrong?" I asked, because that was what all movies taught us to say.

He shivered, and I hesitantly pulled him into an embrace. I was just waiting for him to pull away, but he hugged me back. "Nightmares," he whispered, and that pretty much explained everything. His body shook, as tears kept pouring down his face. "Bianca, she, she-"

He cried harder, unable to continue. But I knew the story: Bianca was dead.

I felt the tears coming along too. My mom had died when I was 10, leaving me on the edge of two choices: stay and live with Dawn or Nyssa and _possibly_ marry either Gabby, Dan or Jason, or be homeless. Now that I reflect back on this, I would have gone for marrying one of them. But here, I had Will and Nico and Ash to be friends with. Oh yeah. Jack too. Maybe.

"Nico-"

"Don't start with those sappy: I don't understand-"

Cut off by hearing my sobbing too.

At this point, I don't know who was cheering who up.

Nico buried his head into my sweatshirt. I tried ignoring the tears coming down my face, I hadn't seen my mom, or my besties for seven years. Nico probably needed more help than I did, though.

"Look Nico," I said, lifting his chin up and sweeping the bangs out of his forehead like my mom used to. "I know it's hard to experience a loved one's death. We're the same. And it's OK to break down and cry. But know this: you'll always have me. And Will. The seven- all of Camp! We'll all survive."

Then, Nico did something I never thought he would do. He kissed my cheek.

"You're like Bianca, you know that Jay? You two could have been best friends."

"I feel honoured to hear that, Nico."

Nico's smile seemed to illuminate the forest. But it was gone all too soon.

"You know, um, Jay?"

"Yeah?" I asked gently, not really knowing what to expect.

"… I can trust you, right?"

"I- Of course Nico! To be honest, I trust you and Will more than Ash." I don't know why I said that: I just did.

"Well," he paused, his eyes boring into mine. "Will, for a while, I actually, um, liked him. And… I kind of still do."

I stared at Nico in amazement. He looked as if he was trying to hold back even more tears. I noticed the fear in his eyes: I knew he wanted to be accepted. I flung my arms around him, more tears coming to both our eyes. "Oh Nico, I- I-"

"You're not going to be mad?"

I squeezed the younger teen even harder. "Mad?" I asked unbelievably. "I could never be so happy for you. Society is harsh, you must be-"

I didn't finish. I was too busy realizing how awful the world could be. How awful other people were. If they didn't exist, Nico would have had an easier time accepting himself.

Life was too unfair.

* * *

 **Gosh!**

 **Sometimes, Nico's backstory wants to make me cry...**

 **You know what I hate? Microsoft Word is being mean to Nico! They're saying that Nico isn't a name! Don't they see that Nico needs to be accepted?!**

 **If you agree with me, type: Show Nico some love! In the reviews!**

 **Or just silently agree with me in your head.**


	9. Guilt and Grave Danger

**Hi! It's Willowleaf the Jedi here with a new chappie... and a special guest star! Introducing: Jack Frost himself!**

 **Jack: We're safe, right Willowleaf? I'm willing to stay out of the way of those fangirls... what they did to Leo Valdez was plain scary.**

 **Me: *laughs good-naturedly* Yeah, this is a private place. It's just us, my laptop, and the Nowhere Boys on the TV.**

 **Jack: *smirks* Nowhere Boys? Next obsession, am I right?**

 **Me: Shut up Jack! Just... say something to the viewers, so we can get the story started.**

 **Jack: Um... Stay in school... and eat your vegetables?**

 **Me: Ugh. Remind me next time to get a smart guest star. Well, guys, just ENJOY**!

* * *

Jay's POV:

 _Jay, I thought you would listen to me._

 _But I am!_

 _I told you: Leave. Jack. Alone!_

 _No!_

 _How could I call you my daughter?_

* * *

I woke up sweating.

This was the second time I had the same dream. My father was trying to back me out of befriending Jack. Which I really don't get, because Will told me he never even talks to his godly parent. In a situation like this, I wish I was Will.

But what I really don't get: Why I'm arguing with Helios. Maybe I should just leave Jack Frost alone. But why can't I?

His presence hits too close to home.

I mean, he's somebody I _kind_ _of_ grew up with! I believe he's real and everything! He reminds me too much of my childhood friends.

I change into my camp clothes, then turn on my phone. It's eight am, Sunday. A free day for me to do whatever I want. I step outside into the bright sunlight, searching for something to do. I walk towards the dining pavilion.

I meet Nico and Will there instantly. Nico smiles warmly at me. It's nice to see a smile on his face. Will seems to notice his smile, and soon we're all smiling. It's weird, how smiles can be so contagious between friends.

But Will's smile seemed to fade when he notices something behind me. I turned around, and of course, there was Ash, standing a few feet away. Will and Nico seemed to be at a silent war with Ash. I remembered Will and Leo telling me about how Ash was like Drew, but I didn't care. Ash was cool.

I waved a goodbye to Will and Nico and hopped over to Ash. "Hi!" I said, putting myself into my acting-self.

Jack's POV:

I was sneaking into the dining pavilion when I spotted Jay. With Ash. Again. I kind of hoped Jay wouldn't see me, so I flew up and watched the campers from a few metres above. Jay didn't notice, thank whoevers out there.

I can't hear Jay and Ash's conversation, and I don't want too. Jay's putting up an act, what's the point of eavesdropping on fake gossip or whatever? I just watch them. Jay reminds me of Jamie, for some reason. It's like I'm in the same room as the female, more reasonable, and older Jamie.

Nico's POV:

I never would have thought that Jay, the newest camper, would turn out to be one of my closest friends. But she is, and I love her.

She reminds me of Bianca. It's like seeing her again. It's like she's always been there. Like she never died.

I think the war against Gaea has changed me. All of the campers, actually. Any bonds that were forged before are now, well, almost indestructible. I've found myself opening up to Will and Jay. They turned out to be amazing people.

Last night, Jay had found me crying in the woods. When she asked me what was wrong, I'll admit: I lied. I was more worried about my crush on Will, then nightmares. but at first I was scared. But I trust Jay. She actually tries to find time to talk to me. I told her the truth.

The feelings that came afterwards were hard to explain. My heart had been hammering in my chest, hoping she'd understand. I was sending tiny little prayers to any god or goddess I thought could help.

They helped. Jay understands. She's happy for me.

Rethinking that moment, I want to cry again, even if Will is right in front of me. If Jay hadn't come to the camp, who would've been there to comfort me? I still might have been bottled up, insecure Nico di Angelo. The thing is, I don't want to be that person anymore.

These thoughts occupy my head as I eat at the dining pavilion. I spot Will, his sunshine-smile lighting up the Apollo table. I sit alone. Since Jay doesn't have a table, she's aloud to sit wherever she wants. She's sat with me, maybe once or twice, but she usually sits with Ash.

I try not to internally combust with anger.

Ash is popular. She has a lot of brothers and sisters to sit with. I always find myself wishing for Jay to sit with me when she chooses tables. My luck almost never holds.

I stare down at my food. A burnt waffle. Two grapes. I don't feel like eating.

 _Nico, get a grip,_ I thought to myself. _She spent the evening talking to you and Will. She spent the night in the woods comforting you. She's just trying to keep the balance between Will and you, and Ash._

I still don't think I'll ever like Ash.

I take a few measly nibbles from my waffle. Then I pop the two grapes into my mouth.

That's all the nutrition I need for today.

I head out of the pavilion as calmly as possible.

Jay's POV:

Out of all the friends I've ever had, Nico and Gabby fight for first place for: person with the hardest to read emotions. Seriously. It's hard to read their emotions. Gabby seemed to have peer pressure problems though, so I guess the prize belongs to Nico.

I mean, I see Nico a _lot_. I can tell he tries to keep a blank expression. But when he breaks down, he _really_ breaks down. The only real time I've seen Gabby break down was over multiplication tables in fourth grade. He had been extremely frustrated, and I could see his real emotions. He looked like he wanted to _cry_.

The only time I've seen Nico break down was last night, and he brought with him a flood of tears. It was _definitely_ _something_ compared to Gabby's battle with multiplication.

 _Maybe I should sit with him,_ I thought as I joined Ash and her siblings. _He might want more guidance after last night._ But there was this nagging voice in the back of my mind that sounded suspiciously familiar. _It's Nico. He_ wants _to be left alone_.

I followed that voice, but after a while I started regretting doing so. Nico was sitting alone, while Ash, being the wet sponge she is, soaked up all the attention. I was going to go to Nico, but then I realized he had already left.

I couldn't help but feel guilty. Ash wasn't even really paying attention to me. I was treating Nico unfairly. Even though he trusted me to keep his secrets, I wasn't the perfect, ideal friend.

Guilty.

Looking back, I think that I should have listened to Will and Leo. Maybe they were my true friends. Maybe-

"Hey Jay!" called a chirpy voice from above.

Jack.

I glanced at Ash, trying to ignore Jack's icy breath as he breathed down my neck. "Um, I'm going to go now. Bye Ash!"

I headed out of the dining pavilion, Jack following after me. "What do you want Jack?" I asked; feeling a bit relieved from leaving the pavilion and escaping from Ash. He smiled. "It's next time now! I want to tell you the rest of my story!"

I tried for a smile. "Sure, I guess. Where?" I asked, not wanting to be seen talking to myself. Jack led me towards the archery arena. We both hopped onto the short wall. I sat down, watching Jack walk atop it like a person in the circus. "Where were we?" he asked calmly as snowflakes slowly fell to the ground.

"Um… We were talking about the other Guardians."

"Oh yeah. Well, there's me, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Sandman."

"For some reason, it's hard for me to not believe. It all seems so real."

Jack jumped up excitedly, doing a back-flip in midair. "Exactly! You're a believer, someone who can see us Guardians because you _believe_! You're probably the oldest believer to ever live."

I smirked. "Do I get an award for that?"

Jack laughed. "Sadly, no." he sat down next to me. "Us Guardians… we're not just people, er, and _animals_ who sit down and bribe children. Each of us has a centre- something that we have and that we _protect_ in children."

"… What's yours?" I asked, wanting to hear more and more of the story.

"Fun. I protect the fun in children."

"How about the other Guardians? What do _they_ protect?" I asked, emphasising 'they' so Jack wouldn't start talking about himself.

"Santa Claus protects all the wonder. Bunny protects hope. Tooth- memories. And of course, this one is kinda obvious, Sandman protects dreams."

I nodded. "It sounds amazing." I commented honestly. It really _did_ seem amazing.

Jack grabbed my hands and pulled them into his freezing ones. I resisted the urge to sneeze in his face. "It is! And one day, if I can ever get out of this camp, maybe I can show you around Santa's workshop!"

I shook my hands out of his roughly. "Whoa Jack; let's not get ahead of ourselves. I really only had a friendly conversation with you yesterday." I stuck my hands under my armpits, suddenly understanding the meaning of frostbite actually _hurting_. I cocked my head to the side, suddenly remembering something. "Wait... why did you say ' _if I can ever get out of this camp?'_ Are you… trapped here like Mr. D?"

Jack coughed, probably ignoring the fact that he had no idea who Mr. D was. "I kind of got… placed here. By the other Guardians and the Man in the Moon. He's just-"

"Don't ask me how, but I know who the Man in the Moon is. I think he's from some comic…"

"Well, OK. I was placed here by them, because they thought that I needed to 'find my fate.' I don't get what that means, and the other Guardians don't get it either." He pouted, looking _awfully_ mopey. I never thought something could bother Jack that much. "The Man in the Moon won't tell us what's going on. It's the worst."

I rubbed my hands together, watching as a few snowflakes fell around us. Jack must really be sad. "Um… Jack, I guess it's OK. You have Baby Tooth with you… And… and me too."

What is _wrong_ with me? From being kind to him, then angry, then awkward, now… kind again?

Jack glanced at me happily, opening up his arms to give me a hug. I shifted away from him. "Sorry, no hugs. Even friendship has its limits."

He wriggled his eyebrows, strangely reminding me of Leo, despite the fact that the two were complete opposites… sometimes. "So were just friends? Aw, c'mon. Everybody _loves_ Jack Frost."

I groaned. "You know, I thought you'd be cooler, figuratively and literally. But flirting… Any guy who flirts can be labeled as a _jerk_."

Jack laughed, clutching his stomach and nearly falling off the wall. "I'm a jerk… I'm a _total_ JERK!" His staff clattered to the ground, and soon I was laughing too. I don't really know why though. Maybe it was just the way he said it, as if he was proud of it.

* * *

Lunch time.

The time to regain friendship.

As the dining pavilion filled with campers, I tried to spot Nico. He was at his usual table (Duh!), alone. As always.

I grabbed my food and joined him at his table. He looked up from his plate (which contained… drumroll please… one grape), and I could tell he was trying to not act relived.

"So the odd friend is back. You know, sometimes you're like a wildcard. Sometimes you stick up for us, and sometimes you stick up for Ash. Why don't you just choose your friend group already?"

I tried to get the anger bubbling up in me to subside. "Nico, why can't I just hang out with both groups of people? Have you ever thought about that?"

More guilt.

Nico paused to look at the grape on his plate. "Maybe I shouldn't of told you what I told you last night." He muttered crossly, averting his eyes from mine. I could tell he was mad. I was mad too. Anger was suddenly becoming my worst enemy.

"Nico, why does everyone in this _dang_ camp have a problem with my friendship choices?" My voice was getting louder and louder, but I couldn't care less. "You, Will, Leo, even Calypso! Even Ja-" I paused, trying to keep my sanity. "Why can't you just _accept_ the fact that I want to be friends with Ash too?!"

Heads turned towards the Hades table, watching as me and Nico stood up and argued with each other. Nico's lips formed a hard scowl. "We can't accept it because we _know_ it isn't you! Holy Hades Jay, you have your _head_ in the _clouds_!" My face heated up, not wanting others to notice this. Luckily, the whole of the Aphrodite cabin was missing (maybe having before-lunch makeovers). But I could spot Will's face, a look of disapproval etched into his handsome features. I couldn't tell who the disapproval was for, but there was a 99 percent chance it was for me.

"You know, _Nico_ , I want to be able to understand and talk to you guys, but now I'm wondering if YOU want to do the same!" My voice was at that point where it's high-pitched with anger.

Nico looked like he was going to say something, but I opened my mouth first. "You know, the only reason I came to sit with you was to _apologize_. But CLEARLY, you don't want any of it. Maybe I should just leave you alone forever. MAYBE, I'll just stick with Ash, who actually wants me to be her friend!"

That was when I realized I crossed a line. But my anger was far from subsiding. I grabbed the grape from his plate and threw it at his pale face, hitting him square in the nose. He flinched. I heard some campers giggle, while others booed and jeered. I glared at Nico, only _just_ realizing what I had done. I could tell Will was trying to shoulder his way through the campers to get to us, but Nico and I just continued to glare at each other.

Just to bother the two of them, I ran off just before Will could catch up. I tried not to burst into tears as I ran into the woods.

Jack's POV:

I didn't see Jay after lunch. I wasn't entirely worried, because I knew Jay could handle herself, and that this was place was safe. Apparently, nothing could get in. Oh wait…

I needed something to keep me occupied, so I looked around for Lily. I remembered seeing her being carried into the Big House, and I haven't seen her since. I was feeling pretty guilty.

I slipped into the Big House as quietly as I could, even though half of me knew there was no point. I wandered around a bit, looking for a place that they might have placed Lily in. Like… an infirmary?

Found it.

I entered in to the infirmary. Suddenly I was feeling a bit scared. It was dark. It felt lifeless, but I could see Lily's sleeping form on one of the beds. The curtains were drawn closed, and again, more importantly, it seemed empty. It reminded me of Pitch's lair under the bed, where I had found all the little fairies and memories hidden underground.

I walked over to Lily's sleeping form. I stood over her, trying to tell if she was OK. The reasonable part of me was praying she wouldn't wake up, because this might look extremely creepy.

She took that exact moment to wake up. Lucky for me, she didn't wake up like Jay did, scaring the wits out of me. Her green eyes fluttered open, and we locked eyes. She looked ready to jump out if her skin; she was actually that startled. "Lily!" I exclaimed, relieved that she was awake. A huge weight was suddenly lifted from my shoulders.

She sat up, trying to catch her breath. "Jack Frost… Well you're a sight for sore eyes." She put two fingers to her wrist, as if she was checking for a pulse. "Do you remember what happened in the woods?" I asked softly, hoping that she had some explanation. But I don't think that one of the side-effects of old-age is getting possessed.

The nymph took in a deep breath, swinging her legs off the bed. "I… I remember falling. Then I was paralyzed, and I couldn't speak. I was scared, Jack! We're all in grave danger…"

Great. _Grave danger._ Just what I need.

* * *

 **Me: Was that cool, or was it just OK, or just... unthinkable? Tell me in the reviews!**

 **Jack: You're too soft. Why don't you tell them something like... if you don't get at least... hey I don't know, two or more reviews, I won't be back, or there won't be anymore other guest stars!**

 **Me: Um... OK. I guess. What he said. Guys, I guess it's time to say goodbye to Jack.**

 **Jack: You're so pessimistic. After this, I think I'm going to try and force you into the snow.**


	10. What the Heck?

**Something inside of me tells me that I'm getting worse and worse at writing...**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

I could barely see where I was going through my flood of tears. I've never been in a fight with a friend before. Nyssa and Dawn seemed to always agree with me, and vice versa. My arguments with Dan, Gabby, and Jason only lasted a few seconds, and they were about stupid things like _Naruto_ and Victoria Day. Not that it's stupid. You know what I mean.

I've never felt so humiliated. I just want to hurl myself into the ocean right now. Maybe I'll let the harpies eat me. Maybe I'll just run away.

As I sit down on a random log on the beach, trying to evaluate my life so far out of two (I'm going for 0.5), I notice a little green and blue blur of color at the edge of my vision. I wipe my teary eyes, looking around. "Hello?" I call. Nobody answers.

"Just the wind," I mutter to myself, returning to my pity party. _0.5 or 0…_

Then I heard the buzzing.

I whipped my head around, glancing this way and that. A little fairy catches my eye, and I recognize her as Baby Tooth. I try to pretend to look like I didn't just have my first friend break up. She doesn't buy it. Baby Tooth somehow seems to recognize me too, and she flies over to me.

I hold out a hand to touch her. "Hi." I say hoarsely. She flies up to my shoulder and pats me with her tiny hands, as if to say, ' _it's ok.'_ The gesture was enough to make me feel a bit better.

I rubbed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Could you promise me not to tell Jack? He's crazy enough as he is."

Baby Tooth seemed to giggle. She flew towards the ground, and my gaze followed her. She landed on the sand, and began to draw something with her foot. When she was done, she pointed at me, then at the drawing, and I realized it was actually a name: _Jay_. She pointed to me again, and I got what she was trying to tell me. "Yeah. I _am_ Jay."

She seems to smile, which makes me start to forget about my fight with Nico.

Baby Tooth patted my shoulder one more time, then flew off.

 _Great!_ I wanted to say. _Thanks for the 'pep talk.' See you around!_

I leaned my head into my hands, which were rested on my knees. I couldn't tell who I was mad at right now: Either Will, Nico, Ash, or myself. Something was telling me that I was mad at myself. _I wonder why_ … (Sarcasm intended)

Suddenly I hear Ash's voice calling my name. I sigh in relief, and look in the direction of her voice. She directs her dazzling smile at me, almost sadly, before running over and scooping me up into her arms. I want to cry, but my tears won't come. They're blocked up and watering in my eyes, but they don't fall. "Oh, Jay…" she whispers, vaguely reminding me of Nyssa and Dawn, who were like sisters to me.

"I'm so stupid." I mutter, not knowing what else to say. I pull myself out of her embrace, trying to keep my temper. "But it's nothing," I lie. "Come to think of it, I don't really know why they became my friends in the first place." I felt the bile rising in my throat.

Ash smiled at me. "I understand Jay. You're welcome to sit with me, _any_ time you want. You can forget about Will and Nico, and I'll understand that too."

My eyes continue to water. "I want to apologize," I confess, feeling a lone tear slide down my face. "But at the same time, I _don't_."

Ash coughed, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Look at me, Jay," she says kindly, but it sounds more like a command. "You'll make the right choice. You'll find a way. You have your best friend with you, right here by your side. I'll _always_ be here."

She squeezes me into one last hug, leaving me with an impossible choice. _Will and Nico? Or Ash?_

That nagging, familiar voice pops into my head again, that same voice that told me to ignore Nico. I know for sure it's not Helios, but who else could it be? Suddenly, the voice intensifies _. Ash is the choice… She will help you… leave those boys…_

I shove the voice into the back of my mind. I'm sick of hearing it. I ignore it. Maybe Ash _is_ the answer. But I don't see the point in leaving Will and Nico. After all, they _are_ my ' _rescuers from down under'_ (never again).

Ash got up, pulling me up with her. "C'mon. Let's go to your cabin."

I walked off with her.

Jack's POV:

As I exited the infirmary, leaving Lily after random speculation, my heart continued to beat. Her 'wise-words-of-wisdom' were starting to scare me. I wasn't sure Camp Half-Blood was that safe after all, which made me feel scared for Jay.

I hopped out the nearest window and flew out of the Big House. I tried to steady my breathing. "I need something to calm my nerves…"

Suddenly, I noticed Baby Tooth. I flew over to her, feeling a sense of familiarity wrap around me like a blanket. Her smile was bright as she waved at me. "You are _definitely_ a sight for sore eyes," I commented honestly.

She nodded, still smiling. She landed on my index finger, pulling on it. "What?" I asked, trying not to laugh at her brave effort to pull me. She hummed a bit as she pointed to the woods.

"We're going to the woods?" I asked, not that surprised. Most of the eventful things that happened to me ever since I've come here either took place in the woods or the beach. "Lead the way then!" I called as she zoomed off.

I tightened my grip on my staff and flew off after her.

Flying through the woods can sometimes be hard for me. I remember, on my first day here, I had flown right into a tree. That _really_ hurt. Now, I flew around, constantly on my guard. I didn't want to risk another stomach ache.

I had trouble catching up with Baby Tooth. She practically blended in with the scenery, and every once in a while, I would have to call her name. "Baby Tooth?"

She'd stop so suddenly that I'd somehow fly into her. Not the most practical way of flying, but hey: even flying has its limits.

And then she'd zoom off again, and we'd repeat the dizzying process again and again.

I watched (or tried to) Baby Tooth as she navigated through the trees with no problem. She made me feel extremely clumsy, because every few seconds, I'd be pretty close to bumping into something.

"Jeez," I muttered as I nearly bumped into my fifth branch. "Why is this forest so big?!" I asked nobody in particular.

Baby Tooth took that time to stop. Again.

I flew backwards a few feet, trying to regain my balance. "Please tell me that whatever we're looking for is actually worth it," I complained. Baby Tooth giggled, and touched to the ground. I copied her movements.

She pointed at a large grey rock, about the size of Jamie's sleigh. I stared at it, a bit bored. "So we came all this way so you could show me a rock?"

Baby Tooth shook her head at my impatience, reminding me of Jay. She landed on the edge, and continued to point. I rolled my eyes and squatted down next to the rock. "I still don't-" My voice caught in my throat, and Baby Tooth smirked triumphantly.

Hidden by the rock, was a red, leather-bound book with intricate, golden designs. I dug it up and brushed the warm earth off of the treasure. Baby Tooth hovered over it, expecting me to open the book. She looked at it, almost power-hungry. It was unnerving.

I ran a hand along the spine, letting my long fingers trace the golden patterns. "This is cool!" I exclaimed, sitting atop the rock. I glanced at Baby Tooth. "Should I open it?" I asked.

Baby Tooth gave me a look, as if to say _, 'seriously Jack? Of course you should!'_ I could still see that look in her eyes.

"But remember the last time I did something not exactly right? I accidentally destroyed Easter…"

Baby Tooth seemed to consider that, but only for a little while. She shook her head and pointed at the book sternly, almost ordering me to open it. I gave her the stink eye. "Alright! I'll open it! Don't need to go all serious on me," I added lazily, still not exactly understanding why she wanted me to open it _this_ bad.

I opened the book, and was instantly hit with a wave of nausea, followed by a tsunami of even more nausea. I stumbled backwards into a bush, and suddenly a sound like a brass trumpet emanated from the ground – the sound of pure fear.

I screeched, feeling my senses jumbling together. I couldn't make out anything but the pain. The sound seemed to vanish, but my eardrums shook as if there was a miniature earthquake in my ears.

For a few moments, I sat in the bush, feeling the branches and twigs scratch at my back. The back of my blue sweatshirt had torn open, so I probably looked like I was wearing a stupid cooking apron. I tried standing up, and immediately started scrambling around for Baby Tooth and my staff. "Baby Tooth!" I called frantically, seeing my staff a few feet away. The book lay open on the rock. Baby Tooth lay beside it, unconscious.

I scrambled towards her frantically, ignoring the book for that moment. I scooped her up, trying to feel her tiny heart for a pulse. I let out a sigh of relief – she was perfectly fine. Except for the fact that she was unconscious, but whatever. "Baby Tooth," I was whispering now, my voice a bit hoarse and my throat suddenly feeling awfully dry.

I watched as she slowly opened her eyes, squeaking and whining and making weird, screeching sounds. "Baby Tooth! Baby Tooth!" I shouted, watching as her tiny body thrashed around madly in my palms. My heart began to pulse faster and faster. What was going on?

Then she stopped and lay there, breathing heavily, as if she had run a marathon. My mind raced as I tried slowing my breathing. Baby Tooth coughed a bit, and I could feel her heart beating just as fast as mine. "What happened back there? Are you OK!?"

I lay her back down on the rock, giving her a bit of space. She coughed, and the brightness of the forest seemed to go darker, but only for a second. I looked around for any signs of danger. Then I grabbed Baby Tooth and put her in my sweatshirt pocket. "We have to get out of here," I muttered, grabbing my staff and zooming off.

…

…

…

The book's pages turned at an unimaginable pace, yet had no reader.

A murky gray fog seemed to wrap around the book like a blanket, cocooning it from the outside world.

Whispers could be heard, a faraway voice with no speaker.

 _"He of frost and she of sun…"_

The forest seemed to sigh. The voice died in the wind. The grey fog resided into the depths of the shadows.

* * *

 **ERMAGERD WHAT IS HAPPENING!?**

 **I'm trying to do that thing where the writer jumbles up the reader with confusion...**

 **Could we just pretend that it worked? :3**

 _ **Oh yeah! It's chapter 10! Woo... Milestone moment!**_

 **Special thanks to everyone who reviewed:**

 **-Dawnlight25**

 **-Shadow Gumball of Death**

 **-Um**

 **-THE TATTOO ARTIST**

 **-Chiara Dello**

 **-Prince of darkness 44**

 **You guys made my day!**

 _ **And thanks to everyone who followed and favorited:**_

 **-Chuu112**

 **-Dawnlight25**

 **-SkagKicker**

 **-THE TATTOO ARTIST**

 **-Shadow Gumball of Death**

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 **-NeelyBoo**

 **-Prince of darkness 44**

 **I seriously love you guys!**


	11. Memories and Getting to Know You

**Hey guys, Willowleaf the Jedi here, with a new chapter… and an apology.**

 ***everyone gasps dramatically***

 **Yes, you heard me right. I need to apologise.**

 **Why, you ask? Here's the answer: My writing is horrible. And I mean, so bad that I want to delete this**  
 **shameful story, but I shall not. I want to improve, but I don't exactly know how.**  
 **It's nice to imagine that my writing is as good as J.K. Rowling's, or Rick Riordan's. But I'm just... Gah. I thought I was doing so much better, but this… damn, this is plain awful. I've left out important parts; haven't elaborated on others. Everything seems to flow too quickly, and I hate it.**

 **Sure, I said I wanted to improve. But I still am a lazy human being, so I'm not going to restart. I'll try improving my writing from here and on. :(**

 **SOOOOOOO here. I'll give you a short list of things I need to make clear for you.**

 **\- Will, Nico, and Jay were friends. As in, extremely good friends, better than Ash and Jay.**

 **\- They have broken up, and Jay is confused on what is happening.**

 **\- Jay's mom died when she was in fourth grade, but she only ran away at the end of eighth grade.**

 **\- Jack's book (100 things to do with snow), is with him and Baby Tooth, but who knows where?**

 **There. I think that's it. Well dudes, ENJOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

Something happened in that forest. That stupid, cursed, forest.

Once I had left and reached the camp, something seemed to change. It was like the forest was trapped in a bubble, and separated from the outside world (a.k.a. the camp). The light seemed to have shifted, but I couldn't tell if it was brighter or darker. There was a calm buzz as a few campers made their way around camp and towards their cabins, for it was now night.

Sure, there weren't many people in that forest, but it had been too different. Something was up, and I wasn't completely sure I wanted to know what that something was.

But now it's the night. The warm rays of the November sun were now gone and replaced by murky darkness. The moon was out of sight, and the stars seemed to have disappeared too. I'm sitting on the roof of the Helios cabin.

I opened up my sweatshirt pocket, allowing Baby Tooth to escape. She appeared with a little piece of sweater fuzz in her feathers. She was trying to scowl at me as she picked the fuzz out of her feathers, but she still looked awfully dizzy.

I glanced at the moon, which wasn't there. Sad.

"Sorry, Baby Tooth. I was just scared. Something happened in that forest, and I just had to get you out of there."

It was all true. My heart was racing and everything.

Baby Tooth flew behind me, and placed a hand on my back. I jumped, feeling startled. I touched where Baby Tooth had placed a hand, realizing my blue sweatshirt had torn open. I scowled, removing it, leaving me in my white cotton T-shirt. I placed the torn piece of clothing onto the roof, leaving it there for the time being.

I watched my legs dangle over the edge, back and forth, back and forth. I couldn't look Baby Tooth in the eye. "What… what happened back there? I mean, you weren't acting like yourself." I remembered Baby Tooth practically forcing me to open the book… The book!

I tried jumping up, but I forgot that I was sitting on a roof. I tumbled down to Jay's front door. I shrieked, landing on her wooden porch.

"Ow," I muttered a _bit_ too loudly.

I heard a voice come from inside. "Hello?" asked Jay, her voice slightly muffled.

"Hi Jay!" I muttered, hastily getting up and brushing myself off. Jay opened the door, and she looked really surprised. Her eyes were a bit red, and she was probably trying to shake off her grogginess. "Jack! I…" she quirked her eyebrows at me, as if giving me a once-over. Like that's not weird…

She turned around to look behind her and into her cabin, putting a hand to her forehead and squinting her eyes closed. "Jack, it's the middle of the night… we can talk another time."

I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked down at my bare feet. "Oh, um, it's not to talk. Just, I just kind of fell off your roof. Y'know, the usual thing."

Jay nodded slowly, although I could tell she was trying _really_ hard not to laugh. "OK then, Jack…" she said, forcing herself to keep a straight face. I could tell she was confused on whether or not to let me in or slam the door in my face.

I sighed expectedly. "I don't mind if you laugh." I muttered in defeat.

But hey, I let her laugh. Not you.

"Good," she said, starting to smirk.

Then Baby Tooth flew down next to me, landing on my shoulder. Jay waved at her; all means of laughing at me vanished. I could sense tension. The two girls locked eyes with each other, and both gave a slight nod. The tension seemed to disappear too. Just like that. Like how a person can disappear in a magic show – in a dramatic poof of smoke, leaving the audience wondering what happened to them.

I coughed awkwardly, and Jay snapped her attention back to me. "So… I take it you two know each other?" I asked awkwardly, running a hand through my white hair.

Jay nodded, but I could tell I wasn't going to get an explanation from either one of them anytime soon. I'm sure it's nothing. They're girls – and girls always seem to know other girls. It's creepy, but cool.

"Well," she said, motioning for Baby Tooth and I to stay out there. "I'm not going to fall asleep anytime soon. Would you guys care to explain what you were doing on my roof?"

She was inside her cabin now, grabbing something from her closet – a sweatshirt, the red one she had been wearing when she first came to camp. I could see that it was still a bit dirty, with dirt stains and something a darker red… hopefully ketchup.

I glanced at Baby Tooth, and we made a silent agreement not to talk about what happened in that forest. Fortunately for Baby Tooth (and unfortunately for me), Jay couldn't understand anything Baby Tooth said, so I was going to be the one doing the awkward _talking_.

Jay stepped outside, wearing her sweatshirt over her pyjamas. I watched as she discreetly stifled a yawn. I tried ignoring it and the three of us stepped off her porch. Well, Baby Tooth flew, but do we always have to go into those technicalities? Baby Tooth almost never walks anyways.

"Um, it's kind of personal. Nothing really, just… personal." I stuttered, not really wanting to lie to Jay, one of my _only_ friends in this damned camp.

"Oh, sorry Jack. I don't mean to pry." She said it casually, but I could tell she was a bit disappointed. I didn't want her to worry about books and fairies getting possessed. That was a whole other level of stress then what she might be dealing with right now.

I coughed awkwardly, letting Jay fall into step beside me. I could tell she knew I was cold, because she distanced herself about five feet from me. I tried not to care.

"So um… Jay," I mumbled, letting my feet take me wherever. "Anything… interesting happen today?"

Jay stopped in her tracks.

I stopped too, turning around to face her. Her smile had vanished as she stared into my eyes. Her bottom lip quivered. "I…" she looked at her shoes. "It's nothing. Really. I…"

"Don't want to talk about it?" I offered, taking a few wary steps toward her. Baby Tooth stood still as a statue as she perched on my shoulder. "If you don't want to talk, I won't pry." I added, trying for a small smirk.

I was hoping for a dramatic run-and-hug, but all I got from Jay was a heartfelt smile, something I've rarely seen on her face, especially if it was directed at me.

"Oh, how the tables have turned, Jack Frost," she said, catching up to me. All signs of her being sad had vanished, which was a definite relief, especially on my behalf.

I scanned my surroundings, looking for a proper place to sit and chat. That was all we probably would ever do – sit and chat. Jay seemed too old for snowball fights and sledding. For romping around with me and Jamie in the snow. For ever meeting the other Guardians. It seemed to all be one distant dream…

It probably won't ever happen. Jay's going to grow up soon. She's going to move on and stop believing. The thought of my believers ever forgetting me is hard to dwell on – it's hard to imagine letting go of somebody you've grown fond of. Someone like Jamie, or Sophie, or even Cupcake, well, I can't imagine my life without them.

"Jack?" she asked, when we sat on the low wall of the archery arena, which would probably become our unofficial meeting place. "How… how can you fly? How can you control the snow and the ice and all that?" she narrowed her eyebrows, and something inside of me heated up at her close proximity.

Her eyes met mine, as if they were a window into my soul. I gulped. "Are you human? A Half-Blood like me?" she questioned.

Now, I'll tell you something interesting about Jay: she has mood swing issues. Like seriously, in this one night, she's been curious, excited, sad and wistful, and now menacingly _curious_. It's _weird_. Could it be a demigod thing?

I took in a breath, holding up two hands at her to calm down, putting on my _cool_ face. A few snowflakes sprung from my hands, and Jay jumped back. I led the snowflakes away from her face before she could sneeze. "Chill, Jay. I thought I told you everything, but this story was definitely an important chapter in my long, long, _long_ life."

I closed my eyes, feeling the wind tousle my white hair. It's hard for me to imagine the days when I had brown hair, the past is always hard to think about. The past is like a water fountain. If you clog up the spout, then after a while, the water just spills out for everyone to see, for everyone to splash around in, and for everyone to recollect in. The moral of this simile? I hate water fountains, most of the time.

But I guess Jay deserves to know a bit about me.

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, now known as Burgess, I was born to-"

Jay groaned, rolling her eyes. "Just get to the good stuff, Jack. I don't need to know _every_ single thing about you. That's just plain _creepy_."

I could hear the buzz of wings as Baby Tooth flew off.

I crossed my arms at Jay and, just for good measure; stuck my tongue out at her. "Alright, fair enough."

Jay smirked triumphantly. _Oh I am_ so _going to ask her about_ her _life when this story is done…_

"I used to have, brown hair. Brown eyes. I was the cutest boy on the block and everything. Not to brag…"

Jay raised her eyebrows at me, as if not buying it. "You forgot to mention your huge feet, silly."

I pouted playfully. "Well, I grew up with my sister-"

"You had a sister? Man, I feel bad for her, she must of-" she stopped when I fixed my blue eyes on her with a glare. "I'll shut-up now," Jay muttered in defeat.

"I grew up with my sister, Mary, and my mom. Dad died a year after Mary was born. He never _was_ the best dad, so you don't need to go all 'oh my gosh Jack, I'm so sorry!' because it just starts to get annoying when people start saying that." Jay giggled a bit at my falsetto voice.

Jay smiled. "My mom died in a car crash when I was ten. I ran away before I could start high school; because I didn't want to go live in a dumb _foster_ home."

"I guess we now have _something_ in common." I mumbled numbly, not exactly sure on how to react.

"Yeah… Something in common," Jay echoed thoughtfully.

I took a glance at her, but she didn't really seem to be paying attention to me. She sat there, staring off at the night sky with her hands crossed, as if waiting for something to happen. Even though it was dark out, I could still make out her calm expression. I decided to continue the story, since she seemed in the mood to listen.

"Well, one day, my sister and I went out to the pond, so I could teach her how to ice skate. She was eight at that time, and I was 18."

That seemed to snap Jay out of her melancholy thoughts. "But… I don't get it Jack. You said you were eighteen, but you're eighteen right… right _now_." She gaped at me; her mouth twisted into horror. "Are you… you're immortal? Or dead?"

I could see the sympathy in her eyes, but I shook off my own sadness and continued my story.

"Well, the ice was thin. It was cracking right under Mary's feet." I felt something in me break down and twist itself into small pieces. That moment in my long life had been horrifyingly scary to live out, and watch over. I could hear Jay's quick breathing catch in her throat.

I felt my fingers wander, feeling all the grooves and notches carved into my staff. I held it out ever so slightly to Jay. Her fingertips wandered over the staff cautiously, as if she was afraid.

Afraid.

The fear in her eyes is painfully recognizable – it matched the expression Mary had on _her_ face when she thought _she_ was going to fall, when she thought that I wouldn't be able to save her in time. It's sad to say that I've seen someone that afraid.

Fear can be an awful thing.

"Well, I had to do something." I continued quietly. "I couldn't… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Mary would die. I grabbed my staff, and, and I swung it over to her, snatching her up in the process."

I could hear Mary's calls already, the faraway sound of her voice creating a knot in my stomach. _"Jack…"_ she had called _…_ I would never be able to answer her call, her pleas. I was gone, and I still am. I probably will be gone for a very long time.

"She was safe. She survived. But while I was throwing her to safety, I accidentally swung _myself_ into her spot." I imitated the motion with my hands, the way Jamie liked to describe things. "The ice cracked, and I fell under. I drowned. And I died." I said it bitterly, as if I was biting into a lemon at the same time. Jay cringed at my sad tone.

I turned away so that I wouldn't have to face Jay, and see her expression. _Jack!_ She might scream _. You're a ghost! Get out of my sight!_

I willed myself not to cry. Snowflakes fell to the ground, drifting slowly and untimely in the breeze.

"My brown hair turned white. My brown eyes turned blue. All signs of Jackson Overland seemed to have vanished, and, and disappeared into thin air. I woke up from that pond in the middle of the night, in the middle of a night like this." I gestured to the sky, daring myself to look at Jay's pale face, which seemed to shine with sadness and emotion in the darkness. Her sorrow seemed to roll off of her like a tsunami, and I was glad I had her to sympathize for me, even when there was nobody else.

"Except there was the moon," she offered, wrapping an arm around herself in a sorry attempt to keep warm. "The moon found you, didn't he." She whispered; her voice a small noise in the endless darkness.

The wind blew harder, but I didn't continue my story. I didn't want to. Jay probably knew the rest anyways.

Probably.

Jay's POV:

Looking back on the events that happened today, as I sit in this cabin with Ash, I feel extremely ashamed of myself. Whoever's out there and reading this might as well be saying: 'Screw you Jay, why do you always hate yourself?'

And then I'll say, _'Well damn you, you don't know how I feel!'_

Wait… why would anybody be reading about my life anyways? Weird, but whatever. You can experience this with me. Like a Disney movie!

I hate myself.

Well, I'm sitting on my bed, in my pyjamas. Ash is sitting behind me with a hairbrush, combing through my hair. It reminds me of a scene from Lilo and Stitch, where Nani had been sitting on the hammock with Lilo and singing her that pretty song. The words were lost in the depths of my mind, which meant I wasn't going to find it anytime soon. Sad.

"Did you ever like Disney?" I asked her.

Ash stopped humming and brushing my hair, as if contemplating the question. "Well, I used to. When I was a kid and all."

I stuck out my tongue. "You still are a kid, aren't you? You're seventeen, right?"

Ash grabbed me by the shoulders and twisted me around to face her. "Jay, I'm nineteen." She said plainly, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

I jumped up in amazement. In literal, awe striking amazement. "What!? I thought you were seventeen. You look too young!"

Ash elbowed me, standing up to join me. A small grin was plastered onto her face. "Jay silly, were only _two_ years apart. Disney became extremely boring once it was my eighteenth birthday, you know."

At first, I didn't believe what she said. I turned around to grab my phone, checking the time. "Disney never gets old. It's like, immortal or something. Like Tuck Everlasting. Except it's a movie company, and probably never had a magic spring."

I turned off my phone and set it back on my desk. "Oh wait! It does have a spring. They made the book-to-movie adaptation of Tuck Everlasting in 2002, remember? Winnie looked _so_ old…"

Ash considered what I said for a moment. She had an interesting thinking face; she'd scrunch up her nose, and her eyes would cloud. Her eyebrows knitted together, but she still had that beautiful and graceful look about her.

I waved a hand around her face, waiting for her reply. "Hello-o? Earth to future Mrs. Solace?"

I instantly wanted to take back what I said, especially when I thought of Nico's tear-stained face that night in the woods, and Will jumping on top of me to protect me from the Hellhounds in the woods a few months ago.

Will and Nico have done _so_ much for me. What has Ash done?

Ash cut me out of my thoughts before I could delve deeper into them.

"I don't know Jay. I just… on the morning of my eighteenth birthday, everything seemed to just… lose its colour."

I gasped. "Are you colour blind?" I fretted, realizing how little I knew about Ash. _What else don't I know about her? Is she even alive? Is she actually more into Dream Works, and is her saying she likes Disney a cover-up?_

Ash took one glance at me and cast a hopeful smirk. "Holy Hades Jay, I'm not _colour blind_."

"Then, why did you say everything lost its colour?" I asked, in the stupid way that I do things. _Well, I guess she meant it like a metaphor, something to be taken figuratively, not literally…_

The blonde tore her gaze away, and for once, I could see an expression on her face that I'd never seen before: sadness. "Everything I loved when I was your age just seemed to become…" she clicked her tongue disappointedly as she searched for the correct word. "Dull, and boring. It was as if reality had hit me in the back, right where it hurts. I didn't care to notice the pretty lights in the air – and the strange white-haired boys in the treetops."

I knew she meant that last part about Jack as a joke, but it didn't seem that funny, now that I knew more about him.

She sighed, plopping down onto my covers and propping an elbow onto her knee. She leaned her head into her outstretched palm, and her blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. "I felt more self-conscious, I guess. I started worrying more about my appearance." She added.

"That must really suck," I mumbled, not really knowing what else to say.

Back when Dawn and Nyssa were my only friends (we became besties with Dan, Jason and Gabby in third grade), we never _ever_ fought. It was like we were the same person. We liked doing the same things, and agreed on pretty much everything with very little arguments. That friendship was definitely not preparing me for being friends with a musical, medicine loving boy and his best friend, who was almost the complete opposite; and for losing them. It didn't prepare me for someone who loved dressing nicely and wearing makeup; that was for sure.

Friendship is weird, like everything else in this world.

"It did _suck_. And it probably will _suck_ until I die." She sighed, folding her arms. "It's like I've forgotten how to have fun." Ash pouted.

I tried not to freak out when I tried thinking of something to say. What do they say in the movies? It's like I'm Mulan, faking being somebody else. Except Mulan saved the whole of freaking China from creepy soldiers, and I… I'm just me.

"When I was in third grade, one of my friends Gabby started freaking out in the middle of a game of tag."

Ash's mood seemed to instantly cheer up. She clearly knew that my friendship stories were always funny, especially when Gabby was in them.

"Why did he start freaking out?" she asked, flopping up on the covers and staring at the ceiling. I glanced outside one of my floor to ceiling windows before carrying on.

"He said that his back started hurting, and then he thought he was becoming an old man." I said plainly, imagining Gabby as he shrieked and tore across the playground, whining and complaining.

Ash giggled like a school girl. "You guys were too weird," she continued to giggle.

I smirked, imitating Jack. "I know," I said proudly. Ash sat up and pushed me playfully.

"I'd kill to meet your friends Jay. They must have been _awesome_."

I folded my arms playfully, imagining what it would be like if they were actually half-bloods too. Would they have run away with me? Who would their godly parents be? Would they have still been friends with me?

I scowled, feeling the awful feeling of reality hit me. "What if they don't remember me? What if I've lost them, like I lost Will and Nico?" I asked Ash.

Her lips twisted into a sad frown. "You can't lose true friends," she muttered finally. "They're always there, aren't they?" her frown turned into a slight smile. "Maybe they're telling stories about you. Maybe they're even looking for you!"

Something inside me seemed to explode. It had never occurred to me that I would find Dan, Nyssa, Dawn, Jason and Gabby again. I jumped up, doing a little dance, once again imagining my childhood friends here in camp, with Jack, and Ash, Will and Nico.

But then I looked out at the window. The sun that had once been shining brightly had been blocked by clouds. It was as if it had disappeared, and the happy feeling inside of me seemed to fizzle out.

Ever since I had found out about Helios being my father, I felt as if he was sending me signs through the weather, like a fortune teller or something. He was a god (or titan, I don't like controversy), which meant he had power. Heck, he's been sending me dreams! Was he sending me signs?

I looked at Ash, then back at the window. The sun was still gone. _It's nothing,_ I thought. _Since when does the weather have something to do with your personal life? Helios is a god/titan/whatever Jay. Just because you're his daughter doesn't mean he always has time for you._

Ash left a few minutes later, and I turned my attention to my phone. I tapped the edges rhythmically, trying to remember any names of social media sites. Sure, there was YouTube, but could I really find a video of my friends on YouTube? Last I remember, Dawn and Nyssa were too afraid to look at themselves on camera.

Instagram… Facebook? Was there Snapchat when we were in eighth grade? What was Gabby's last name again?

I scowled down at my phone. Something told me I wouldn't find them on social media. I buried my hands into my head before jumping up and hurling my phone at the window (cut me some slack, there is barely any wall space in my room. I meant to hit a wall, I swear).

The window shattered, like something from a movie. I yelled angrily, feeling a blast of wind crash through the huge hole where my window should have been. I snatched up my phone, which had cracked too. I tried turning it on.

At least that worked.

I stared at the place where my window once was, trying to think of what to do. _I think I should tell Leo… Definitely not Chiron. He'll kill me._

Then I heard a loud thump come from outside, and a familiar voice said, "Ow!"

Jack.

I opened the door, to see him standing there. His sweatshirt was gone, and replaced with a white cotton shirt, leaving his skinny, pale arms bare.

* * *

"Jack, I… I… I'm speechless," I started, feeling something inside of me breakdown as I watched the white haired boy. He wouldn't look at me, but I could feel his emotions, somehow. Or at least, I could imagine them.

Fear. Sadness. Anger. The usual angst thing. He had just poured out all of that onto me.

Jack still wouldn't look at me. I folded my arms to my chest. "When I was… when I was nine or eight years old. I had six best friends: Dan, Jason, Gabby, Dawn, and Nyssa. They were my best friends. I'd play with them, get in trouble with them, you know, friendship stuff."

Jack's head tilted ever-so-slightly to the side. But he still wasn't saying anything. I think that this is the first story I've ever told him that has something to do with my childhood buds.

I decided to continue my story. "Well, we didn't exactly have any other friends outside of our little group. We wanted it to be us, and only us, at least until we died."

I could imagine Jack smirking.

"But, I let four other friends into the group. They were more like unofficial members, but they were imaginary, so they got in just fine."

Jack turned around to look at me, his sad face now gone and replaced with an ever-so-familiar smirk. "You had imaginary friends?" he asked teasingly.

I tried hiding my embarrassment and continued the story. "They've been with me since I was, like, four years old."

"Names?" Jack asked, his eyes sparkling in the darkness. His white hair seemed to glow, reminding me of Rapunzel.

"Hiccup. Merida, Rapunzel, and Jack. Jack Frost." I forced myself to look him straight in the eye, trying to psyche myself up for the teasing. But instead, he grabbed me and pulled me into a rib-cracking bear hug.

An icy cold seemed to envelope me as I tried to get breathing again. I could feel his long limbs wrapped around me, and his shirt felt soft under my face.

"Ribs," I squeaked, to which Jack quickly let go. I would have blushed, but I couldn't feel my face. Jack looked away from me, seeming a bit flustered. "Sorry, Jay."

I forced myself to laugh a bit. At first it was forced, but then Jack joined in, and we were both laughing, our voices echoing into the darkness. They say laughter is the best medicine, which I now believe.

* * *

 **Well, that ended on a happy note. Jay may have lost Will and Nico, but hey, she has Jack!... and Ash. And say what? I have a cover page! Yay! Jack and Nico may be cut off, but hey, for a person who is unexperienced at drawing, I tried my best.**


	12. Kind-Of-Not-Really

**Hey dudes! Willowleaf the Jedi here, with a new chappie! Hooray!**

 **Does this count as fluff? I don't know. Kind-of-not-really-fluff. There!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

I woke up. I felt air through my broken window. I yawned. I flopped back into my bed. I waited. I waited some more. Waited, waited, waited…

Someone burst through my front door, and I cursed in my head. _Damn, I forgot it was November! It's freaking freezing!_

"Ash, go! I know you want to drool over Will at archery, but I'm not interested!" I whined. We had been doing this for a while now. She'd come over and wake me up, then force me to get ready to go to archery so that she could fawn over Will.

But Ash didn't answer. I decided to pretend I had fallen back asleep (so that if it was a stalker, I could give them a heart attack).

More waiting.

Suddenly a shift at the foot of my mattress. A groan as the person or whatever got up. I tried forcing back down an annoyed groan. It didn't occur to me that this would be danger. Duh, this camp has magical borders!

Then the mattress continued to squeal, and I lost my patience. "Mr. or Mrs. Stalker, could you please get off my bed? This is really weird."

A familiar voice answered back smugly, "And so she wakes."

"Ugh," I mutter into my pillow. "You can just leave me be Jack, Ash will wake me up in a bit anyways."

Jack started jumping on my bed like a five year old. I continued to groan.

"C'mon Jay, what is it with that Ash girl? You're better off with me, or those boys." I heard a bump as Jack's head hit the ceiling.

 _Shut_ _up._

"Please Jay?" I could imagine him doing a puppy face as he continued to jump clumsily on my mattress.

I turned over and tried ignoring him.

He plopped down onto the mattress beside me, a wave of cool air blasting me in the face. "If you don't wake up, well, I guess I'll get that kiss I've always wanted-"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I shouted, rolling out of the covers, only to fall and get stuck in between the wall and the bed frame. "Ow," I mumbled angrily, trying to pull myself up.

Jack's white hair fell over me as he stared down at me, laughing. His blue eyes were wide with delight, and I could smell something about him… yup, he smells like snow. Just to express my anger, I gave his hair a good yank.

Bad idea.

He fell onto me, squishing the both of us into an awkward Jay-and-Jack-sandwich. "Ow!" I muttered again, trying to shove Jack's freezing body off of mine, all while trying not to blush.

Luckily Jack was light, and he floated out of my personal space bubble with no problem, hovering over me warily with his hands behind his back. He stuck out a hand to pull me up, which, for once, I gladly accepted. Once he knew I was up, he let go quickly.

I plopped down onto my bed again, watching as Jack avoided my gaze, his face heated up like a tomato as he ran a hand through his white hair. "Sorry, Jay. Again."

He looked up, as if waiting for my reaction. "Uh, I guess it's nothing." Well, of course it's something, but what else am I supposed to say? _Oh sorry, I think I deserve more of an apology from you after you squished me between a wall, a bed, and… you._

"Hey, by any chance do you know how to fix windows?" I asked, pointing at the window frame. Jack touched to the ground, looking slightly confused as he examined the window.

"What happened here?" he asked, looking at me, then back at the window, then back at me.

"Oh you know," I said casually. "Got mad last night. Threw my phone. Crash! Window's shattered."

Jack smirked. He walked out my front door without a word, then came back a split second later with his staff in his hand. He readied it, aiming it at the window as if it was a gun. He squinted an eye shut, before an icy blast of, well, ice shot out, freezing over the spot where my window had once been.

I was about to speak, before he shot at it again, and again, before putting his staff down.

He glanced at it like how Leo liked to look at things _he_ made. Then he tapped it with a finger, before turning back to me, satisfied. "It was never broken," he said jokingly, giving me a small salute.

I smiled happily. "Thanks-"

He held a hand up. "It was nothing, really-"

"Jay? Are you awake?" called a voice from the doorway. I forced down a jump, looking from Jack to the window, and to the door. I knew who was there, and Jack clearly knew who it was too.

"I'll get going," he mumbled numbly, walking over to the door way. I smiled at him, following in his tracks. "See you later, Jack," I whispered, opening the door and watching as Ash walked straight through him.

"Ready your bow!" cried Will, who was standing in that familiar position, waiting for us to follow him. Nico was by his side, helping him instruct. I tried not to feel nervous or envious.

I watched as Will's dark eyes flitted across the row of campers as they readied their bows. I could tell he was nervous about my presence, just as much as I was. Nico seemed to always try and mask his feelings and emotions, but something told me that he was probably feeling the same way as Will and I.

As I glanced around, from my bow to the target, I locked eyes with Nico. His stone hard expression seemed to intensify in the November sun, and I had to look away almost immediately, my face hot.

* * *

"Aim… and Fire!" Will cried, watching as the campers let loose their bow strings. My arrow sailed past the many others, hitting square in the middle of the target: A bull's-eye.

Will narrowed his eyes at me, as if waiting for my next move. But then, the corners of his mouth twitched into a tiny smile, as if to congratulate me. I gave him a curt nod back, before turning back to Ash. She grinned at me. "Nice shot!" she offered her hand for a high-five, and I quickly obliged.

At the end of archery, I tried approaching Nico. I guess I was feeling too guilty to even last a day without feeling bad. I walked up to him as he put his bow back in the shed. "Nico? Um… can we talk?" I asked, watching as he looked at me from under his curtain of black hair.

"Jay, I don't really know-"

"Well fine, if you're going to say no, I'll just say what I want to say now: I'm sorry." I mumbled hotly.

Nico looked at me impassively as he swept the black hair from his forehead. "Are you really? You sound mad." He said plainly.

I grumbled inwardly. Is this really friendship? _Last I remember, Dawn and Nyssa never fought with me. Dan, Gabby and Jason were another story, but hey, you'd understand if you knew them._ "Don't you see Nico? I feel bad. I want to make it up to you. But clearly, you don't want any of it. Why don't I just-"

"Leave me alone? I'd like that very much, thank you," he retorted, crossing his arms.

Will walked over to us. "Jay, Nico, I-"

"You're on Nico's side, aren't you?" I mumbled lowly.

"Jay, I, I…" he set his bow down, grabbing one of my hands, and one of Nico's. "Guys, I know you're mad at each other, but we… friends fight, don't they?" he questioned, pulling us closer. "The gods are probably testing our friendship right now. This might all be a test! You don't want to fail, do you?"

Nico broke away from Will's grasp, and I followed his example. "Will? Nico? Why don't you guys just get out of my life? True friends are supposed to stay together forever, but we've only lasted like, what? Oh yeah: A stupid month or two."

Nico clenched his fists. "So we're not friends, huh?" he said quietly, avoiding my gaze. Will buried his hands into his head. "No, you guys! This isn't-"

"Sorry, Will, Nico, but I best be taking Jay now. Make over time!" cheered Ash, grabbing me by the arm and hauling me away.

Jack's POV:

I had watched the whole thing, from a small shed where they put all the archery equipment. I saw Will and Nico argue with Jay. Then Ash dragged her away.

So that's why Jay didn't want to talk about her day yesterday…

Jay's POV:

Make over. Just the words I never wanted to hear.

But then Ash had dragged me to her cabin. She sat me in a vanity and grabbed bags of makeup and hair product. She had told me to forget about Will and Nico. To forget about all my nonsense of growing up.

She had told me that I had to find my true potential. She told me to trust her and let her give me a makeover.

Now my brown eyes 'stand out.' Thanks, mascara.

Now my brown hair has bright blue streaks. I feel like a rock star.

"That's all!" I shouted, standing up and looking in the mirror at myself. It was like I had a parallel twin, or at least a slightly cooler me.

Ash quirked her eyebrows at me, waving some nail polish in front of my face. "What? Oh, c'mon Jay, just a little bit of nail polish and I'm done with you."

I slouched into the little chair she had given me to sit on. "I like the blue hair and the stuff in my eyes. I don't want anything else."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be that way," she said, pulling me up from the chair. "Look at you! You look awesome!"

"I feel like a Disney princess," I complained.

"It looks like you can control the weather with your hair. It's blue, like rain. Maybe, on bad hair days, you'll make it rain."

"If we're still on the Disney topic, well Pudge the fish from Lilo and Stitch controls the weather, and Elsa."

Ash sighed, pulling her hands into mine and forcing me to look her in the eye. "Look Jay. I know you're troubled, what with all the Will and Nico drama. I gave you a makeover so that you could start anew, and change your perspective of things."

"And that's supposed to help how?"

Ash shoved me playfully. "I feel bad, OK? This is how I'm trying to make up to you."

"By doing something that I don't want you to do?" I asked starkly.

"You'll thank me, I know you will." She retorted.

Jack's POV:

It's weird. Knowing the truth, and realizing it's something big, when you originally thought it would be nothing to worry about.

But this, this is serious.

Soon enough, Jay is going to leave me behind and join Ash, grow up, get married, die, so on so forth. And all without me!

I pouted all the way to her cabin. "She needs Will and Nico," I muttered to myself. "She'll regret leaving them, I know it."

I knocked on her door. Surely she would be in there with Ash!

No answer.

"Jay-ay-ay!" I shouted hurriedly, leaning against my staff. _Where was she?_

I groaned, leaning my head against her door and slouching. "Is this a half-blood angst thing?"

I banged my head on her door a couple times. "Jay!" I called again. Why wasn't she answering?

"Has it ever occurred to you that I might not be in my cabin?" came a voice behind me.

I whirled around, only to come face to face with Jay… only… it wasn't Jay? Her long brown hair now had striking bright blue streaks, and her eyes… holy _cow_.

"Whoa… What happened to you?!" I cried.

Jay rolled her eyes. "Ash gave me a makeover." She didn't look entirely happy about it though.

"You look… you look…" _c'mon brain, the one time I need you to function properly…_ "Whoa," I stuttered.

Jay laughed, probably out of embarrassment. "Eh, it's OK. I guess."

I tried getting my brain to snap into the right place ad cleared my throat. "Ash… why?"

Jay crossed her arms, rather defensively. "It was to help me see things through another light." She stuck her chin out, as if waiting for me to agree with her.

"And a makeover helps how?" I asked.

Jay rolled her eyes. "You won't understand," she said, walking off quickly. I flew after her and landed a foot in front of her, forcing her to stop.

"You'll regret being friends with her, I can see it already." I explained. "Will and Nico… well, you'll regret losing them."

Jay shrugged her shoulders in exasperation. "You're not my mom, OK Jack? You're just somebody that just so happened to enter into my life. I'll probably lose you too, like I've lost everyone else." She whispered lowly.

"I… Jay I-"

"My mom? Dead. Dad? Who knows where!" she was beginning to ramble. "My only friends? Gone too! Now Will, and Nico, soon Ash, and, and-" she threw her hands up before wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Surprisingly, the mascara didn't run. It stayed completely the same.

"Jay calm down, you're- you're just… Just calm yourself." I grabbed her by the shoulders. "Take in a deep breath…"

She sucked in a few shaky breaths, before opening her eyes and sighing. I let go of her shoulders slowly, grabbing my staff. "Wanna play?" I asked, imagining Jay was Jamie or Sophie.

Jay rolled her eyes. "Jack, you know I'm too old to-"

"C'mon, let's go!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, reaching a hand to grab her. She hesitated. "Jack-"

"You need this. Everybody needs fun, but lucky for you, you have Mr. Fun guy to help you."

Jay regarded my hand, as if comparing it to hers. Then she reached out. The moment our hands met, I shot up into the sky, hoisted her up onto my back, and zoomed off towards the beach. "Jack!" she screamed, her nails digging into my shoulder.

"Faster? OK then!" I shouted over the wind.

"Jack!"

* * *

 **Wow guys, you really are starting to spoil me. two reviews per chapter? This is awesome! I feel so loved...**


	13. Party? Is Will Gonna be There?

**I, personally, am proud of this chapter and-**

 ***loud crash***

 **Leo: I'm back... with Nico di Angelo!**

 **Me: *screams* Leo! Nico! But I put out a reminder for you guys not to visit because Jack-**

 **Nico: That was stupid.**

 **Me: Fair enough. *clears throat* Well, ladies and gentlemen, Leo and Nico! Now guys, tell me, what the HECK are you doing here?**

 **Leo: I heard Nico and I were getting a little spotlight in this chapter, so I thought, hey! I'll get Nico to shadow-travel me over here to read with you!**

 **Me: *blushes* Nico, go while you still can. I want you to stay, but avoid Leo while you still can. Seriously.**

 **Nico: *smirks creepily* I can handle it, whatever it is. Hey, do you have McDonalds?**

 **Me: I'll see what I can do.**

 **All three of us: ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

Frost. Ice. Snow, you name it, it appeared. Jack had turned the beach into an Antarctic paradise – thank the gods I chose to wear a small jacket before stepping out. Jack on the other hand… he had on nothing but his T-shirt and his ripped up pants (or leggings, whatever you want to call em'). Luckily, he was immune to cold, something that, at the moment, I'd _kill_ to have.

Jack cheered, pumping his fist in the air like he was blowing a truck horn, and I looked around. This definitely seemed like fun, even coming from me. Jack willed it to snow, and something inside of me seemed to burst. Christmas would be coming soon, and this was probably the best way to spend the season: with snow. _Canada's lucky to have all this, that's for sure,_ I thought.

"C'mon, Jay! Come play with me!" he shouted, already running off, and for a second, I imagined myself as a ten year old, running around with my old Jack Frost, with my other friends, both real and imaginary. It was like I was reliving my childhood… Childhood.

I ran over to Jack, scooping up and throwing a snowball towards him. "I'm coming!" I said mockingly as I ran through the snow. Jack laughed as the ball of snow hit him in the chest, and aimed his staff at my feet. He shot some ice forwards, and suddenly I was sliding on my belly like a penguin, heading for the ocean. I laughed, trying to stop from sliding.

I managed to swerve to the side, and the ice disappeared. I whooped, plopping into the fresh powder, trying with all my might to fight the biting cold, and focus on the fun I was having right now. I felt cold hands hoist me up and onto my feet, and I turned around to see the happy-go-lucky look on Jack's face.

"I told you you needed this," he chided, "Even if it was only for a few minutes."

"But – but-" I didn't want it to end! I swear we just started ten seconds ago…

"I know you're enjoying, but I know you're cold too." He spoke softly, his eyes sparkling. Now that he said it aloud, I realized I was starting to shiver. Holy Hades… what was I doing out in weather like this?

He motioned for me to follow him back to the camp. My face flushed in disappointment. "But… but," I only realized how childish I was sounding, and took in a breath. "How are you going to melt the snow?" I asked. I put my hands under my armpits, watching as my breath appeared in plumes of smoke. I should have brought gloves…

Jack shook his head, waving his hand in the air. "It'll melt by itself," he said coolly, running a pale hand through his wind-swept hair.

"What! But what if another demigod finds it? Someone's bound to find it – whether it's Leo or the crazy seven, or the nymphs, or, well, anyone!"

The cold must be getting to me. Jack laughed. "The cold must be getting to you," he spoke, mirroring my thoughts, almost exactly. "I'd offer you my sweatshirt, but I don't have it. And knowing you, you'd probably refuse anyway." He explained casually. It took me a second to realize this was his failed attempt at flirting.

I looked out at the expanse of snow. Sure, I cared about camp. I didn't want them freaking out about this, claiming it was one big anomaly sent from Khione. Knowing them, Rachel Elizabeth Dare would probably spout out a whole prophecy about it: _She of sun and he of frost, will make a big snowstorm at the beach…_ Or something like that.

Then I looked back at Jack, and the thoughts seemed to freeze up and fly away with the snowflakes.

"Where is your sweatshirt anyways?" I asked, realizing that he hadn't been wearing it since last night. Over the span of time that I've known him, he's always been around in that frosted blue mess.

"Eh, I was out and about with Baby Tooth in the woods, and then it kind of tore up." He blushed visibly, the red of his cheeks contrasting oddly with his otherwise pale complexion. I scrunched my nose up, ready to bombard him with more questions, before I saw the look in his eyes. _Please_ , he seemed to plead. _I'll tell you another time._

I smiled at him reluctantly. It was never really fun to stay curious for a long time, but whatever.

"Now." He spoke in a slightly serious tone. "I want to talk to you about something else." He explained, and for a second, I thought he was talking about… _us_. Creepy, to say the least.

"I…" he spread his hands, as if he was confused. "You're fight with Will and Nico, I, I-"

Without thinking (seriously, no thought what so ever), I grabbed Jack and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. I could already imagine their scowls of disapproval, realizing that I had closed off my friendship with them. I fought off the bitter cold of Jack's touch, and forced myself to come to the harsh reality of the situation. "They're gone, Jack. I've lost them, and they're mad at me, and-" I stopped myself, not wanting to slip up about Nico's secret.

Jack seemed too appalled to react to my response. I guess he did the only reasonable thing a person would do in a situation like this – he hugged me back. "You can't lose true friends forever, Jay." He said soothingly. I vaguely remembered those words coming out of Ash's mouth.

"Then what, what if we aren't true friends?" I asked Jack, squirming out of his freezing grip. His eyes were widened slightly, as if _I_ hugging _him_ was too bewildering. "Jay. Tell me again how you guys became friends." He asked, noticing my hesitation.

"Well… they taught me about being a half-blood." I imagined the Hell-hound, and how we had been running the whole night. "They saved me, and, and," I remembered how Will had jumped onto me, using himself as a human shield to protect me, "I… they brought me to camp, and, and… They really are my friends!" I exclaimed, the excitement in my voice starting to scare me.

I tried not to notice that I was starting to mirror Anna from Frozen, and how she had gotten Kristoff to take her to the palace with hope, only to realize that Prince Hans wasn't who she was looking for.

Hopefully I wouldn't be Anna in a situation like this.

Nico's POV:

"I don't know what to do," I confessed to Will, watching as he hung upside-down from a few metal bars on the roof of the sword arena. We were supposed to be sparring, but we weren't (Gee Nico, what was the first clue?). Instead, he was hanging upside-down, and I was slouching over a bench, watching him as we chatted. His sword lay off to the side, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. It wasn't like we were too lazy, we were just uninterested.

"Hey, it's not just you," he grunted, his tanned, arms flailing around. "I'm her friend too." He sounded serious as he spoke, but I couldn't help _not_ keeping a straight face.

"Hate to break it to you _doc_ , but I don't think we can have a serious talk while you're hanging upside-down with your camp shirt falling over your face." I retorted. It was true – I couldn't see his expression, or his face for that matter, which made it really annoying. It was hard not to blush, seeing him… like _that_. Seeing the faded scars on his shirtless chest… I'm getting ahead of myself.

Will grunted and tried heaving himself up with failure, and I had to smirk, washing away my previous thoughts. "I thought Apollo kids had to be fit," I chided. "You _definitely_ set the standards." I could imagine Will's face heating up from under his faded orange shirt at my sarcastic tone.

"And I thought Hades kids didn't joke around with _peppy_ Apollo kids, and look where we are now." He snapped in response.

I scowled, twisting my skull ring. Will finally managed to bring himself up, his sun-kissed (I don't know if I should take that term literally) blond hair tumbling down his forehead. "Fair enough, Solace," I mumbled in defeat, watching as he jumped off the rings and walked over to me, his footsteps echoing across the almost empty room.

He plopped onto the bench, wiping a few beads of sweat off of his face. He nodded and stared at me, as if to say: _Well? Ideas?_ I searched his face, going over the question that's been popping around in my head ever since he made me sit in that _damned_ infirmary for three days: How could I of ended up friends with somebody… like him?

"I dunno," I muttered dumbly. I wasn't even sure which question I was answering: his or mine.

Will sucked in a breath noisily, as if I wasn't there. "Really Solace?" I asked, feeling a bit annoyed. Will made a face, mirroring me.

"Well I'm sorry, I was just hanging upside-down with a cotton-shirt covering my breathing holes, and well, forget it." He laughed, as if he had said the funniest thing in the world. "We have bickering issues Death Breath," he concluded.

I swallowed. "Well, duh," I spluttered, not really liking the feeling of being righted by Will, and especially not liking it when he called me names like ' _Death Breath.'_ I cleared my throat, trying to come back to reality. "Look, Will. Jay's our friend. And… and…"

For once, Will didn't take the time to make a joke. "We'll get her back," he finished, acting as if this was a quest. Acting like the two of us were the prince, and Jay was the damsel in distress. I wasn't sure if I liked that idea or not. Jay _definitely_ didn't seem like a damsel in distress… Unless you count the time we saved her from the Hell-hounds and brought her to Camp Half-Blood.

Suddenly, Nico felt another presence in the room. "Hello?" called a familiar voice.

He and Will immediately turned around to face the door, where a familiar Latino was standing. "Hi!" Will cheered, losing the seriousness that was in his voice only a few mere moments ago.

"Am I interrupting something?" Leo asked, his cheery smirk giving me the feeling of wanting to punch him in the face. Will's eyes widened as the Latino said this, and I fought down the colour rising in my cheeks.

I scoffed, only realizing the awkwardness of the situation through Leo's eyes: Two boys. Alone. Talking in hushed tones. Sitting on a bench, at _unnaturally_ close proximity. So on so forth.

"You're not interrupting nothing," Will muttered, losing his cheery tone for a second, and replacing it with sheer embarrassment. I realized how funny it was that he accidentally said 'nothing' instead of 'anything.' I scooted to the edge of the bench, avoiding Leo's gaze as he walked in without invitation.

The boy examined the two of us before launching into speech. "Guys, I need your help. Since the rest of the seven are at Camp Jupiter at the moment, you guys are the next big thing."

"Gee Valdez, we just love being compared to the seven like that," I muttered, still avoiding his gaze. Will had become awfully quiet. I didn't exactly know how to react to that.

Leo paused, shifting his weight from foot to foot and glancing at Will, as if waiting for him to speak.

"Just start talking," I spoke, feeling my impatience start to surround me.

"OK, so… um…" he scrunched up his nose, as if deep in thought. "It was either last night or the night before, but I was with _mi sol_ , err, _Calypso_ , giving Festus an oil change, when, we felt… this thing."

Will snapped out of his quiet mode. "Care to elaborate this 'thing?'" he asked with a smirk. "Because for all we know right now, it could be a wrench hitting you in the back of the head."

Leo smirked. "Ha ha, very funny Solace. When was the last time we talked like this, you were giving me the grand tour, weren't you? And now you've left me and joined di Angelo over here-"

"Shut-up _flame pants_ and finish the story," Will said through gritted teeth. Leo definitely had a thing for ticking people off.

Leo smirked at the name 'flame pants,' before continuing his peculiar story. "It was like… It felt as if something hit me in the back."

"And so the wrench attacks," Will and I said in unison. I gaped at him, and he gaped back at me. It was always weird to say the exact same thing as someone else at the exact time. For a second, Leo looked as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Well, anyways," Leo spoke, running an oily hand through his oily hair, "when I turned around to see what hit me, there was nothing there. It was just a force, and it stayed there, knocking me against Festus for a while. It hit Calypso too, and she said that something wasn't right. We left the forest immediately after the force disappeared, so that we could warn Chiron."

He took in a gulp of air, seating himself between me and Will. Will gave him a look of concern. I tried not to stare.

"But then," Leo said, facing me, "as we were walking towards the Big House, something even weirder happened."

I leaned forward expectantly. "Something weirder? Leo, what is it with you and weirdness?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Seriously Nico," he said, which took me by surprise. It was only on rare occasions that Leo actually called me by my real name, and not something like 'di Angelo,' or 'Death boy' or something like that. "C'mon, this is where you guys come in. Jay… I saw her, talking to…"

Will's eyes widened, and we exchanged a disappointed glance. It was almost a ninety percent chance that she was talking with Ash. But Leo dashed that chance. Unfortunately or fortunately, I'm not completely sure…

"She wasn't talking to anybody, but it was like there was a person… A _he_. And this he… I don't know if he's real or not, but… if he is, than he might've caused that force."

Leo looked at the both of us with his face scrunched up, as if he was bracing himself for our reactions.

Will was the first one to react. "She's weird, Leo. She talks to herself. Remember when Ash posted that thing about her talking to a random 'boy' near the woods?"

But I could sense that he was doubting what he was saying. Leo hardly ever told lies. Sure, there was the occasional prank or life-or-death-lying-to-monsters, but the taco-lover could surprise you.

"Was there anything else you want to tell us?" I asked, twisting my skull ring again until it hurt my finger.

Leo's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! The air around her, well, I was hiding and listening a few feet away, but the air… it was freezing! It was like she was in a little bubble with the person she was talking to, and that person, was, like…" he struggled for the right word. "Was like Elsa!" then he scrunched his face up again. "Elsa the guy, I mean."

Something seemed to click in my brain. "Um, don't worry Leo. We'll keep an eye on her… Bye!" I said, hopping up and escorting the Latino away. I tried ignoring his cries and complaints. Once he was out of sight, I jogged back to the benches where Will was sitting, his elbows on his knees.

We stared at each other, before I spoke. "Jack Frost," I said, because that was the only answer I could come up with at the moment. I plopped back down onto the bench, waiting for his reaction.

Will seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Remember when she was talking to us, that day when we first met her? She asked if Jack Frost was real."

I nodded. "We just said it was Khione, and then it started snowing, and-" I stopped myself. "We don't know for sure." I said, falling back into my slouching position.

Will sighed. "I wish the rest of the seven were back," he muttered, completely abandoning the Jay situation. "They could subdue Leo's awful jokes and stuff."

I found myself trying not to smirk. "Percy would have a hard time looking me in the eye," I said, not meaning to say that out loud. I felt my eyes widen as Will stared at me, his eyebrows arched, the question on the tip of his tongue.

"It's nothing you need to know, doc," I lied, giving him a fake salute. Will seemed to be satisfied with the answer (either that or he liked being called _doc_ ). "But shouldn't we worry about Jay, not Leo?"

Will nodded his head, his brow now furrowed. "You're right. Maybe we… maybe _I_ should try talking to her."

He glanced at me, blue eyes boring into mine, as if waiting for my reaction.

"I'm coming, even if I don't say much," I figured obliviously.

Will's eyes seemed to darken. "But what if you accidentally-"

"Fine. I guess I'll just shadow-travel off then."

"NO!" Will shouted, his reaction taking me by surprise. His voice echoed off into the emptiness of the place. Then he shook his head again, his blond hair flying everywhere. "You can come… no more shadow-traveling."

I couldn't resist the urge to tease him, even for only a little bit. "In case you haven't noticed, those three boring days of me trapped in the infirmary with you are over. I was shadow-traveling to save you and Jay, and-"

Will's face heated up, but I couldn't tell whether it was from anger or embarrassment. "Just shut-up already. We have to get going."

I stood up, joining him, and the two of us walked out without another word.

* * *

It's amazing, how one little thing can change your whole life.

There the two of us were, walking around camp, keeping eyes peeled for Jay. The whole time, I had to fight the blush from rising into my cheeks, since Will was standing with his shoulder pressed up to mine. It's kind of weird: We're alone; and he's the one blushing. We're walking around _freaking_ camp, and he's doing… whatever _this is?!_

I coughed, watching as other campers walked by, staring at the two of us. I counted the faces of people I knew as they walked past: Lou Ellen, Malcolm, Clarisse and Chris.

I was suddenly feeling self-conscious, hoping they were staring more at Will than me. Will was smiling at everyone as always, as if we were celebrities.

I coughed again. "Why don't we split up?" I asked. We had already checked her cabin, the woods, and almost every other place in camp except the beach. And I definitely did not want to go to the beach with Will pressed up this close to me.

You might be thinking: _Nico, you're acting weird, why don't you just scowl and distance yourself like you usually do?_ Well thing is, I tried that. And then, moments later, before I could even think, he was there again. I couldn't tell if he was doing that on purpose to tease me, or if…

Will shook his head. "Nuh-uh. If we were going to split up, you should've called it sooner. We just have to check the beach or something. She's been going there recently." He mumbled, and I got the feeling that he was starting to feel self-conscious too. I tried distancing myself again, and, finally, he didn't follow. Thank the gods… I guess.

Suddenly, I spotted her. I tugged on the sleeve of Will's camp shirt. "There she is!" I said, not bothering to get a closer look. She was waving her hands around frantically, as if she was talking to somebody. I was about to run up to her, but Will grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around to face him. I tried to scowl.

"She's talking to herself again," he whispered, "Just like Leo said."

I kept scowling, and somehow managed to look Will in the eye. "Doesn't matter."

"But she-"

I tore out of his strong grip, suddenly angry. At who? Possibly Will.

"NICO!" Will shouted, a bit too loud for my liking, especially since I had only managed to make it a foot away from him. Jay whipped around, a startled look on her face. Her gaze caught mine, and I finally realized something different about her. Her eyes stood out, and she had bright blue streaks in her hair, brighter than Will's eyes.

I shook my head, not knowing what to do. I knew instantaneously that Ash had done that to her, and I wasn't pleased. "Jay…" I trailed off.

Jay's POV:

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does Jack! They'll go crazy and-"

"Do you want me to fly you back to that camp?" he asked, rather sneakily.

I tried not to freeze up as I recalled the trauma of almost falling off of a horse and having Will as the only thing keeping me alive. "NO flying, right. Let's go." I said quickly, walking off through the woods. Jack laughed merrily before following after me.

He seemed to of whispered something, but his voice was too soft for me to understand.

"Huh?" I asked, to which Jack blushed and swung his staff around, almost sniping me smack-dab between the eyes. I ducked just at the right moment with a small shriek and a few curses.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Sorry."

By the time we made it back to the camp, the two of us were talking animatedly about books.

"I wrote this book!" Jack said excitedly. "But then I lost it somewhere in these woods, and yeah."

"What was it about?" I wondered aloud.

"100 things to do with snow," Jack said dreamily. "I was only on number… fifty, I think."

Right then, I heard an all too familiar voice. "NICO!" called Will. Much to my dismay, the two must have been looking for me.

At that moment, Jack pressed his shoulder up to mine like an act of defense. I took a glance at him, and he put a finger to his lips: _Don't talk to me. They can't see me._ Just for extra measures, I stuffed my hands into my pockets, hoping that Jack didn't have the idea of grabbing and holding them. _Humph_ , I thought. _He's giving me the cold shoulder, but in a nice way._

Nico seemed angry, his dark eyes boring into mine like daggers. Will seemed disappointed at the both of us. I only just remembered that I was wearing the makeup from Ash, and a feeling of revulsion passed through me. I didn't want to imagine what Will – or Nico – was thinking about how I'd changed.

"I- I, Nico-" I called, but the skinny boy took off, his aviator jacket flapping uselessly, away from me and Jack. I swallowed nervously, waiting for Will's move. _Will,_ I thought silently. _We're both of the sun. You get me. Please be my friend again._

Will shook his head, a torn look on his face. "I- Jay-" he took a glance to where Nico should have been, only to realize the Italian was gone. He must have shadow-traveled off. "I have to find Nico," he fretted. "But I, we-"

Nico appeared off to the side, landing face-first in the dirt with an audible grunt. Before Will could finish his sentence, he had torn off to aid Nico (typical). The two disappeared the moment Will laid his hands on him, and it occurred to me that the Italian must have shadow-traveled them away. I crumpled to the ground like a pop can, just like that, leaning against Jack's skinny legs for support, fighting off tears.

 _I've lost them, for the third time in two days,_ I thought glumly.

Then I felt Jack's cold arms try and pull me up. I didn't fight. I wasn't in the mood to.

"Jay-"

"Just shaddup," I mumbled rudely.

I was waiting for Jack to flinch at my tone or something, but all he did was sigh. "You aren't gonna get anywhere by swearing." He mumbled softly as he finally managed to pull me up. There was a hint of humour in his voice that I couldn't forget.

* * *

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Ash worriedly. We were sitting in her cabin this time, on her bunk, talking in hushed tones so that her fellow brothers and sisters wouldn't listen in. She was wearing her orange camp shirt and her ripped jeans, somehow managing to make it look cool, a feat that only a child of Aphrodite could pull off.

"I dunno, Ash," I murmured in response. "I don't really want to talk about Will and Nico, so-"

"Right. I'll shut-up now." She said, to which I burst into stupid laughter.

"Anyways," she added, the both of us composing ourselves once more, "I… we're having a party in our cabin, next week. You're invited!" she squealed excitedly. Then she paused. She must have seen the uneasy look on my face, because she said: "Jay, you're coming, right?"

I spluttered. "I'm not sure, Ash, I know Will and Nico-"

"Jay, you've lost them. Just get over it." Her voice was thick with an emotion I couldn't quite place. Was it even an emotion? It was like I was getting stuck in her words.

I tried not to splutter even more before saying, "Right, I guess." Even though I did say that, I knew in my heart I didn't entirely mean it. Something inside of me couldn't quite let go of Will and Nico – they did save my life, after all.

Ash let out a breath of relief, wrapping me into a rib cracking bear hug. "Ribs!" I squeaked, my voice an octave higher than usual. Ash let go of me with a giggle.

"Don't worry Jay, you're going to look awesome! With the makeup, I'll have to design you a _chic_ looking outfit…" she began to ramble about clothes.

I coughed, hugging my knees to my chest. "Are you _trying_ to back me out of this?"

Ash rolled her eyes. "Sorry, sorry, just excited."

"Ash!" called Jess, one of her siblings, a tall, muscular sixteen year old with swooping blond hair and pale green eyes. He was perched on the edge of his bunk, on the opposite side of the room. "Never seen you this excited! I'm betting Will Solace is going to be there too?"

I forced a laugh.

* * *

Even though it was the middle of November, and I was freezing cold, I couldn't sleep with my covers on. It seemed out of habit for me to not sleep with the covers on, but it gave me a sense of freedom, as if the covers were shackles binding me to my bed.

I couldn't help going over all the things that had happened from when I arrived at camp. Will and Nico, and Leo trying to kiss me. Being claimed, only to realize my father was a retired titan or something. Jack. Ash. Me throwing a grape at Nico's head, and losing him and Will forever. And Lily, how could I forget that? Sure, I wasn't exactly involved, but it was plain creepy.

 _I've lost Will and Nico. Lost…_ (This would have been the time when I made a Lilo and Stitch reference, but I was already asleep)

* * *

 _I was in a bright white room that seemed to stretch out for miles on end. I looked around, imagining all the snow Jack had made today. Was I dreaming about that, just without any sense of reality?_

 _"Jay!" called a voice, snapping me out of my thoughts. I know that voice! The figure of a scrawny boy with spiky, mangled black hair appeared. I realized who he was with a start. Is that? NO, it couldn't be. But still…_

 _"Jason!" I called back, instantly remembering my childhood friend. I couldn't recall this being a scene that had happened to me before, so this must have been a dream. As he loomed closer, I noticed that this was him, Jason while he was still the same age as I was now. He had definitely grown taller, and he was no longer the midget I had become friends with._

 _He stopped running a few feet in front of me and we stared at each other. I wanted to run and give him a hug, but my dream self wasn't moving. I was rooted to the spot, and all I could do was talk. "Holy smokes Jay, you look so…" he trailed off._

 _"Where are the others?" I asked worriedly, not wanting him to finish that sentence. "You guys didn't split up, did you?" I had always feared our little friend group would split up, and one of would deal drugs, the other drop out of school… Nothing good, to say the least._

 _Jason's eyes widened. "Oh no, we're still the same. Still the five of us, trying to conquer the world." He smiled wistfully, but I felt a pang of melancholy when I realized I was no longer part of the six (which had become the five)._

 _His smile seemed to widen as he continued to talk. "Gabby and Dawn have been dating since junior year," he explained casually._

 _Soon, I had to smile too. "What about you and Nyssa? You still like her, don't you?!"_

 _Jason laughed good-naturedly, but he was trying not to blush. "I dunno if I want to answer that," he mumbled quietly._

 _Then it occurred to me that I was missing someone. "How's Dan?" I asked, my voice near a whisper._

 _Jason seemed to stiffen. "He… he's still trying to search for you. He's kind of mad, but it's hard to tell who at. I think he still likes you, and-"_

 _"You have to be kidding me. We haven't seen each other in years!" I couldn't help but feel guilty. It never would have occurred to me that he'd still like me after all these years!_

 _Jason tried for a smirk. "Do you still like him?"_

 _I scowled. "I got over that before I even ran away… and I met somebody else," I mumbled, an image of Jack appearing in my mind. Then I shook my head, trying to erase the thought._

 _My old friends' smile vanished. "Why did you run off anyways?" he asked innocently._

 _"I went bankrupt. I wasn't allowed to get a job, and there was nobody to adopt me after mum died. So I left for a while, and then I needed food to eat, so I stole some, and soon the police were on my back, and-"_

 _"Oh," Jason said. "I never thought you'd be able to do something as crazy as that." He sighed. "Have you made any friends?"_

 _"Yeah, I did. But I lost them."_

 _"You can't lose true friends, dummy. You'll get them back. Remember when Dan and Gabby-"_

 _Then he paused, as if something had struck him. The whole scene seemed to freeze, as if there was a glitch, before a tornado of black surrounded me. "Jason!" I screamed, but my voice no longer worked. I had lost Jason too._

 _Suddenly, the scene shifted._

 _A murky gray seemed to surround me. I called out, and immediately the gray seemed to reside, and soon I was in the forest. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack, running and shouting. I tried walking over to him, and my legs finally seemed to work. "Jack?" I called, but he didn't answer. He was muttering things like a madman._

 _Then, something red caught my eye. I whipped my head around just as Jack flew off, and I noticed an open book lying in the dirt, beside an unnaturally smooth rock. I walked over to the book carefully, and suddenly the forest seemed to… sigh. Then I heard a raspy old voice, as if the speaker hadn't used it in over a gazillion years. "He of frost and she of sun," it murmured, before stopping. The forest stopped 'sighing' and I took another glance at the book._

 _I tried picking it up, but my hand just passed straight through it. The words were in Latin, which was something Malcolm from the Athena cabin had started teaching me recently. I could only make out one word: draco._

Dragon _._

* * *

 **Nico: *trying to not blush* I still want McDonalds.**

 **Me: *now smirking* I tried to warn you, dude. I'm sorry.**

 **Leo: Since when was Solangelo a thing?**

 **Nico: Why you little-**

 **Me: Commercials! Review and commercials!**


	14. I Suck at Making Chapter Names

**Hello earth! Willowleaf the Jedi here, with a new chapter! Woo-hoo!**

 ***crickets chirping in the background***

 **Meh, don't care. Well then, I hope you ENJOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

"Tell me, Baby Tooth." I whispered. We were hiding behind the Hecate cabin in the middle of the night. The ugly chicken ladies flew around, but they couldn't see me, or Baby Tooth.

She squeaked and chattered and flew around for a few minutes.

"So you don't know what happened to you. You don't know why you made me open the book, and why the grey fog-"

I stopped myself, trying to think back over the course of my stay at Camp Half-Blood. Grey seemed to be a popular colour in the forest. Lily the creepy tree nymph had been possessed. The grey in her eyes was the same exact shade of grey that had surrounded Baby Tooth and I. That had to mean something.

Something was after that book. We had left the red book there, in the forest, now opened. Something told me that wasn't a good thing.

Too many something's…

"Should we be worried?" I asked her, to which she began to chatter on end. We began to talk over each other, something that you should _not_ do in an existential crisis.

I shook my head, not wanting to worry too much about the book. "Maybe we'll just lay low for now. I'm probably superstitious, I always am." I paused to look at Baby Tooth as I floated over to a nearby tree and nestled into its branches. "Are you coming?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

Baby Tooth shook her head. I shrugged. "Suit yourself, and goodnight."

I kept an eye on Baby Tooth as she flew off. _Where is she always off to?_ I thought, before shaking my head again. _Just go to sleep Jack._

I eyed the stars warily, trying to make out the few constellations I actually knew. A few leaves drifted around in the breeze, and for once, I realized that the tree branches were almost bare. I'd have to bring winter soon, but how would I get out of camp?

"Man in the Moon?" I called out, suddenly wanting guidance. I had tried this at least a billion times in my lifespan: calling on Manny for guidance. It never really worked, but, now that I think about it, I probably never wanted as much guidance as I did right now. There was so much I was going through: Jay, the book, Lily, finding my fate, helping Jay, the list could just go on and on.

I blinked my eyes a few times, waiting for a miracle, or at least a sign. A sign to tell me that I wasn't going crazy by talking to the sky. After a while, I shook myself. _Of course he isn't going to answer. He hasn't in over 300 years._

I grabbed my staff and took off, looking for a better place to perch.

I never really liked to spend my time around the cabins, especially in the night. I was usually sulking in the woods, or on the climbing wall, on Half-blood hill, or the beach. But tonight was an exception. I was tempted to pull an all-nighter, partly because I wasn't in the mood to sleep, partly because I liked taunting the harpies without them lashing out at me.

I perched onto the Helios cabin, accidentally tripping on the roof and falling on to my face. Luckily, I didn't make enough noise to wake Jay, if she even was sleeping. My inner-guardian was tempting me to give her a little peek, just to see if she was OK. But I stopped myself when I noticed two things:

First: My sweatshirt. It had been on her roof the whole time… I picked it up hastily before dropping it again.

Second: The familiar glowing sand, floating from the sky, and falling onto a cabin; the Helios cabin, to be exact. I almost leaped for joy, now positively sure that Jay was OK. She was dreaming! Sandy and the other Guardians might be watching her. Was she still considered a child?

I knelt down on the roof of the plain cabin, sticking my staff up into the air so that it could touch the sand. Her dreams, unlike any other dream I'd seen before, seemed to be a tornado of things. First it was a boy (to which I eyed suspiciously), and then there was a tornado (to which I thought: What the HECK?), and then… the book.

The book, as in the book from chapter 10. That's a _long_ time in the coming…

I stomped my foot on the roof of the cabin, and the chain of dreams vanished, and I heard a small yelp. I floated to her front door, and barged in. Now was not the time to get all concerned over knocking. Jay clearly thought otherwise.

Her head shot up at the sound of my foot-steps, and I fought back the giddy feeling forcing its way into my head. She was blinking rapidly in a sorry attempt to get the sleep out of her eyes, and she had a cowlick of brown and blue hair on the right side of her face. "Jack!" she shout-whispered, slipping out of her bed and blinking her eyes a couple more times. "What're you doing?"

I cleared my throat before launching into speech.

Jay's POV:

"OK, well, it all started when I went off with Baby Tooth- you know how I tore my sweatshirt? It was because of that." Jack tossed me the blue garment, and I fumbled to catch it before turning on a lamp to see. The light flickered and illuminated the room, and I could sense something was up. I'd never seen Jack look so agitated.

"- And then there was this book, and, and Baby Tooth made me open it, and-"

"Wait! Hold-up!" I shouted, motioning for Jack to close the door. "A book? As in like, red binding, Latin writing book?"

Jack jumped up, accidentally banging his head on the ceiling. "That's the one- and ow!" he complained, running a hand through his white hair. He began to pace around nervously. "You were dreaming about it, right?"

I felt my ears redden, wondering if he could somehow read my thoughts. "How d'you know?" I asked, turning on another lamp and striding over to my desk.

Jack joined me hurriedly, sitting on top of the desk and rummaging around for a pen and paper. He promptly ignored my previous question before continuing his rambling. "Well, I opened the book, and then everything kind of turned gray." He found a pen, and now his hands combed clumsily through the contents of my desk. I tried not to feel embarrassed as he tossed around ugly sketches and pointless photos.

Jack sucked in a breath, finally turning to face me. His voice was now deadly quiet, which was starting to unnerve me. _Holy Hades, I just got woken up from a dream about a book (I hate reading) by a winter spirit! How weird could this night get?_

"You remember Lily?" he asked. I nodded merely, an image of Will, Nico and I watching over her from a hospital bed in the infirmary. That seemed like a millennia ago.

"I haven't told you the true story, haven't I," he muttered, finally managing to find a piece of paper. He quirked his eyebrows, as if he just realized what he was trying to do with the pen and paper. He began to draw, but continued to motor-mouth. "Well, I met her… I think on that day when I scared you at archery." His hands moved shakily against the paper, but the lines he drew somehow seemed to be straight. Either that or I need glasses…

I gave him a sour look, and he tried not to blush. "How could I not remember that? Will had to give me extra classes after that because he was just _that_ concerned." I retorted, because, of course, that had actually happened. Well, at least Will cared. What would Ash do if _she_ was in Will's place?

"Well, she – we were talking right, and then she just… seemed to freeze. And there was that gray thing again, but it was in her eyes, Jay." He looked, at me, then back at his drawing. "That gray fog thing possessed her or something."

Now I was deeply concerned. "Possessed?" I echoed, fiddling with the hem of my blue t-shirt. "But… I thought this camp had magical barriers or something. A being strong enough to possess shouldn't be hanging around here, inside camp." Chiron and a few other campers had explained to me a couple of times about the magical barrier, about Peleus the dragon, and Thalia's pine tree. It was a cool story, to say the least.

Jack laughed – a short, melancholy sound that seemed to have so much meaning. "But how did I get into this camp, Jay, huh? Haven't you ever thought of that?"

I wrinkled my nose, realizing that it _was_ weird that Jack had been able to get into the camp. "I dunno Jack, did you freeze the damn pine tree or something?" I asked, hoping that I was right. For once, Jack didn't seem to be that annoying, happy-go-lucky guy I thought I knew. He was suddenly a serious-for-his-age type of person. I had to up my impression of this boy.

Jack shook his head and held up his piece of paper. It showed a small-scale, bird's-eye view of the camp. He grabbed his staff and pointed it at me, as if he was accusing me of something I did. "Look," he commanded sternly.

I followed with my eyes as he drew a circle around the camp using his staff, which left a blue line of frost across the paper. "This is the boundary," he explained, and a story that Nico had told me popped into my head.

 _"I used to think Percy was a pirate," he had explained. "Like Captain Jack Sparrow – both seemed pretty easygoing. But then, when we had the Titan War, he fought - with a serious look on his face. It was the weirdest thing ever."_

Jack's voice brought me back to the present. "But look here." He instructed, pointing at what I assumed was the drawing of the woods. "It just expands, until it doesn't even belong to Camp Half-blood. There are no boundaries there. Anything can just get _in_." It was true. Jack had stopped drawing the circle, leaving the forest to spill out.

I forced myself to look straight into Jack's eyes. "But… but Will and Nico-"

"What if they're just telling you what Chiron told them? It's not their fault of course, but still… he doesn't know about me, but I'm here. The gray thing is probably… I don't know." He pushed the drawing into my hands. "Let's just say it broke in, whatever it is. And it's trying to possess things, but I don't know why." He hopped off my desk, trying to steady his breathing, but I could still sense his agitation.

I immediately sensed something was bothering him. "Jack, why are you so… jumpy about this? You're not even a camper here, why would you care about it?" I asked, feeling a surge of confidence wash over me. Jack's been hiding things from me, and it was time for me to _finally_ get straight up answers.

Jack stomped his feet like a little child. "I'm stuck here! I have to find my fate, and I'm just… mad, OK?"

I arched my eyebrows at him, trying to figure out what was going on with him. "Why can't you just fly away? Just escape from that little opening in the boundary – heck, you can just walk away!" I said, coming to the conclusion that Jack hadn't listened to a word that had come out of his mouth.

But he only seemed to get angrier - or maybe even sadder. "You don't understand Jay! I tried flying away, I've _been_ trying! But there's another force, and, and-" he sank to his knees. I felt a surge of pity course through me, and my heart started beating faster.

"Jack-"

"I have to find my fate! I've been trying to take finding fate as a good thing, but it's getting annoying Jay!" The whole time, he had his head hung, with his messy white hair covering his eyes. So when he looked up at me, I was amazed to see that he was on the verge of crying. This was Jack Frost. And Jack never cried. I didn't know whether to run away, comfort him, or cry along with him.

Ever since I've come to camp, I've felt as if I've become a wimp. I have _never_ cried as much as I have over the course of these two months at camp. Heck, I barely even cried when I got stitches! _Hm, I guess I can relate to Jack a little_ _more than I thought…_

I plopped down next to him, trying as best as I could to ignore the biting cold that surrounded him. "C'mon, Jack, it's not like it's your fault…" I thought back to when I was in grade six, when I thought I was normal, and I had been playing with my best friends. The school bully had pushed Dawn into Jason, who had accidentally spilled his chocolate milk over Nyssa (yes, I know it's confusing). Nyssa had gotten mad at Jason, but Jason claimed it was all Dawn's fault, and the three of them had been sent to the principal's office. Fortunately for them, Gabby, Dan and I had seen the whole scene unfold, and we managed to give that stupid bully a few detentions.

"I'm sorry for having you see me like this." Jack fought back a few sniffs, still avoiding my gaze.

I tried to think of what to say as I picked at the floor. "The Man in the Moon never said you'd ever get it easy, did he?"

Jack clenched his fists, trying to fight back tears. He was shaking with the effort, dragging me into the pit of concern. "But I don't really like it here, Jay. You and Baby Tooth are the only friends I have here, and you may as well be gone with that Ash girl."

I felt taken aback by Jack's words. Ash had been the cause of me losing Will and Nico. I loved her, but still… What if she somehow made me lose Jack too?

I glanced at the white-haired boy, trying to imagine how he was feeling. He suddenly seemed so helpless, and I instantly felt responsible. I braced myself before scooting closer to him, and suddenly it began to snow. I felt my eyes widen at the sight of the flakes as they drifted aimlessly before disappearing before my very eyes.

I shook myself, trying for once to look at things the way Jack might. He was seeing Ash as a threat to our friendship, but for some reason, I understood him. I didn't want to lose him the way I lost Will and Nico. That seemed like something too awful to even dwell on.

"We'll do something about it. About everything – your problems and mine. We're going to get you out and find your fate, and we'll get Will and Nico…" I took in a deep breath before continuing, "And I'll leave Ash behind."

Jack seemed to perk up at my words. "You'll do it? You'll lose Ash, for once and for all?" he asked encouragingly.

Something inside of me wanted to crawl away from the conversation, but I gave him a small smile. "I- yeah. I will. Thinking about it, all she's ever done for me is give me a stupid makeover and help me lose Will and Nico." I held out my arms for him, waiting for him to hug me. He obliged gently, and I found myself closing my eyes. _Ash is none of my business. Why did I ever bother her in the first place, when I had… him? Them?_ Jack's touch sent an electric jolt through my spine, and I let go.

"OK. We're a team now. First order of business…"

* * *

"One more time, Jack?"

Jack pointed at the map he had drawn two days ago, the little diagram of Camp Half-Blood, which was now dripping wet after him drawing with frost all over it.

"We're going after the book," he explained. I was laying on my bed and playing with the holes in Jack's sweater as he looked over the map at my feet. He grabbed me by the hands and pulled me up close to him. I scooted away, and he rolled his eyes. "Let's get the book today. I think we can get Baby Tooth to show us where she is, but I think you have some camp stuff…" he tapped his chin, lost in thought.

I made a strangling noise in the back of my throat. "How do you know my schedule?" I asked, feeling my face heat up. Jack suddenly seemed to know everything about me, and I wasn't entirely happy about that.

"I was looking for more paper on your desk, and I found it. So I read it." He muttered calmly. I found myself resisting the urge to face-palm.

"You don't read things that belong to other people Jack. That's called being invasive." I explained.

Jack mumbled a quick, "Sorry," to which I laughed.

"I can tell Ash to cover for me. She doesn't know about me breaking my friendship with her yet, so… yeah."

Jack grinned his classic grin, and my heart did a tiny somersault. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually happy you have that Ash girl with you." He said, before quickly scrunching up his nose. "I can't believe I just said that!"

I slapped him on the arm before pulling him up with me. "OK then: You find Baby Tooth, and I'll find Ash. We'll meet at… the archery arena. Then we'll be off and looking for the book." I paused and shot a quick glance at Jack. "Should I bring my dagger?"

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a dagger?! Can I see?"

I tore my eyes away from his gaze. "It was from Nico. Stygian Iron and all that." I nodded at him and turned towards my mattress. I stuck a hand under my bed, and it came out moments later, dagger in hand. I quickly removed it from its belt, and held it up for Jack to see. "Careful, Stygian Iron can melt you into a black puddle of death with one touch." I explained, imagining Nico explaining the same to me.

Jack stared at it in amazement, and I couldn't blame him. The blade never ceased to amaze me too, and all for good reason. With its round sapphire pommel; gray handle and hilt; and wicked black blade with jagged edges, it sent off a powerful vibe. Nico had given it to me, saying _, "I trust you, OK? My father gave me this blade, and I have no use for it. It's yours now."_

 _"No fair!" Will had whined. "Why don't I get the cool weapon?"_

The memory hit close to home, but in a nice way. I slipped the dagger into the belt, and quickly fastened it around my waist. I nudged Jack, who was still in awe of the blade. "C'mon. I'll catch you later." I muttered, before briskly walking out of the room to look for Ash.

* * *

Jack's POV:

"I think it was this way." I explained.

"OK…" Jay muttered, probably out of boredom. We've been wandering around uselessly for hours, with no luck at all. It was already getting dark, but we hadn't been able to find the book. There was the occasional Hellhound, but Jay had managed to slice down every monster in our sight, while I stared at her. Sad, but whatever, I guess.

Baby Tooth didn't seem to be much of a help at all, so I had to assume something was up. Something wasn't right… had Baby Tooth been possessed too? I glanced at her – or at least tried to. She was perched in my hair, snoozing her face off. _Gray is no longer my favourite colour…_

Jay began to scowl, and I finally realized that she was probably drained of energy. "We can rest now, Jay," I mumbled, watching as she rolled her eyes. "It's dark already, let's just… Let's just keep going." She breathed.

I scowled, feeling concerned for her well-being. "Jay you're tired. At least five minutes?"

Jay scowled. "But Will and Nico need me!" She began to walk faster.

I flew up a few feet up into the air and landed in front of her. Something inside of me seemed to twist at the sight of her. "If I'm going to have to pin you down to this floor, I swear to the gods I will do it." I threatened. That seemed to scare Jay or something, because she moved out of my way and leaned against the nearest tree.

"Five minutes, that's all."

I grinned, to which she rolled her eyes. I watched as she turned her gaze away from mine, a curtain of brown and blue hair tumbling over her face. She continued to scowl, and I couldn't help feeling responsible.

"C'mon Jay, at least one small smile?

"I think I'll pass."

Now was my time to do the eye roll. "Fine. I'll have fun all by myself!" I shouted, doing a fake pout. Jay didn't seem to care, which sucked on my behalf. I gave a small yell (to which Jay cringed) and began to scale the nearest tree. My hands scrabbled at the rough bark, scraping at my skin, but I continued to climb, praying to every god Jay had taught me about that she was paying attention.

Jay groaned in annoyance, which probably meant that the gods had answered my prayer.

My left hand slipped as it latched onto a branch, and I grunted before quickly grabbing hold again. I could feel Jay's eyes watching me, and I tried to hold down the nerves jangling inside of me.

I finally made it halfway up the tree, where a large intersection of branches blocked me from going any higher. "Hey Jay!" I shouted down below, watching as Jay watched me. I could make out the tips of her mouth twitching into a small smile, despite the darkness of the situation.

I grabbed my staff, and shot out blocks of ice, willing them to stay afloat. They spaced out across the air like blocky clouds. "Watch this!"

I jumped onto the nearest one. Bad idea.

I nearly slipped off the edge, to which Jay gasped, but I managed to grab hold of the icy crevice and slowly haul myself up.

"Careful Jack! Why don't you just get down so that we can continue searching?" she asked, her voice echoing off into the darkness.

"Nah, I'll pass." I said, psyching myself up to jump onto the next icy block. I heard Jay mutter a few curse words, but she stayed put.

I wriggled my fingers and loosened my grip on my staff. "You got this, dude. You totally got it," I whispered under my breath. The blocky cloud was only about three feet away, but still.

I jumped. Stupid, very stupid, but awesome.

I misjudged my leap and sailed over the block; a clumsy, flailing heap of cold. I yelled, and Jay seemed to have yelled something back, but I managed to get the winds to catch me before I met my death. Again.

I touched to the ground, bumped into a tree, stumbled to my right, and promptly passed out. The last thing I heard before my head hit the ground was Jay's scream…

* * *

"Jack?" called Jay. "Wake up, Jack!"

I groaned as pain washed over me. I felt warm hands shaking my shoulders, and forced myself to wake up. There was Jay, sitting over me and trying to wake me up. She let go of me quickly, but continued to watch as I blinked the grogginess out of my eyes.

"Bronze bulls Jack! What were you thinking?" she fretted. She grabbed a flashlight and shined it in my face. "I would have tried to catch you, but you were fine. Baby Tooth on the other hand…"

Now that really got me up and thinking. "Baby Tooth? Where is she? How is she?"

Jay reached into the pocket of her red sweatshirt and held out the little fairy. She had fallen asleep again, and was mumbling incoherently as she rested. I reached out to Jay and took her, cradling her in my arms. "Thank you…"

I looked back up at Jay as she put the puny flashlight back into her pocket. "I should be thanking you, actually." She smirked at the confused look on my face. "Look what I found…"

She held up the book.

* * *

 **Whoa, bonding moments between Jack and Jay! I'm just waiting for the day when someone says: 'I ship it!' I'd appreciate any reviews, theories, comments, or whatever you want to call 'em. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stick around for the next one!**

 **See you later's!**


	15. Getting Back on Track part 1

**iHola dudes! Willowleaf the Jedi here... with two chapters?**

 **OK, they originally meant to be just one, but then I thought, 'nah, I want two chapters!' So now you have two chapters!**

 **They're not the best, but I was in a rush to write them. I was hit with a lot of inspiration, and I had to use it all up before it was lost. :3**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

"I don't understand what it means. Malcolm isn't taking Latin classes as seriously as he used to." Jay explained glumly, handing me the book gently. It's been almost five days since we found the book, and are brains have been doing us no good. We had only been able to decipher a few measly words, but none of them seemed to make sense. _Dragon_ , _frost_ … what?

"Why don't you tell him to take it seriously?" I suggested, but Jay just sighed.

"Malcolm – I don't even know if it's his fault. The seven – I've probably already told you _that_ story – they've been at Camp Jupiter for a while. They're helping rebuild the place, since they just had a big fight. The seven – oh yeah, aside from Leo Valdez – have been held up over there for a few more months. We won't be seeing them for a while." Jay took in a deep gulp of air before continuing.

"Malcolm, Will, Clarisse, Leo, Nico, and a bunch of senior campers are being looked up to by everyone else. They've been super busy, especially Malcolm. He's met this girl-"

I held a hand up. "That's enough of explaining things for one day," I chided. "I guess we'll have to wait a bit until the seven – minus Leo, I mean – come back." I slumped down on the low archery wall (we would have stayed in the forest, but it was getting colder and I was freaked out about that place), trying to come up with a better plan.

We stood in awkward silence for about five minutes. Then Jay spoke up. "I have a party today at Ash's cabin." Her voice was low and quiet. "I'm thinking of ending my friendship with her there. Then maybe I'll find Will and Nico – and maybe even Leo. We can blow up her cabin."

I found myself laughing, even though she probably wasn't joking.

But then Jay looked up, facing me. She had a slight smile on her face, and her eyes were twinkling. "I have a great idea!" she proclaimed excitedly. "After I get Will and Nico back tonight, I'll get them to read the book. Malcolm isn't the _only_ one in this camp that can read Latin." She made a face, as if realizing we were over reacting about the whole 'Malcolm and Latin' situation.

I nodded numbly. "Got it. Hey… do you need a date to that party?"

Jay blushed at my joke. "What- no!" she spluttered, her face heating up with embarrassment, but in a kind of cute way… that was irrelevant.

Totally.

"Um… Jay?" I wondered nervously.

"Um… Jack?" she mocked, and I whacked her gently with my staff.

"How… how did you become friends with Ash in the first place?"

"Well, it all started when Leo…"

* * *

Jay's POV:

I couldn't tell if I was joking when I said I wanted to blow up Ash's cabin. I felt enraged with her, a feeling that I was starting to get used too. Dawn, Nyssa, Gabby, and Dan could almost never make me mad. Jason, on the other hand… The less you know about that, the better. What happens in middle school, can _stay_ in middle school.

I checked my phone for the time. It was 12:45 pm. I had plenty of time to prepare for the party, but I wanted to see Leo before I had another thought about Ash. If I needed safe explosions, then Leo was probably my best shot, right after Connor and Travis Stoll.

I tapped my fingers on my phone. I knew that I had ADHD (I've known since grade one), but it only started meaning something to me when I came to Camp Half-Blood. I had been the person that everyone took pity on when they learnt about me. It sucked, but I'd learned to live. Now, these people seemed to be exactly like me, and treated me like a normal person. For once, I didn't have to be able to read the Hunger Games Trilogy to get in with the cool kids. I was pretty much _living_ it.

But I also knew that other teens here have endured much more than me: take Nico for example. His father was an outcast, _he_ was an outcast for certain reasons, and his family is almost gone. There's probably more to his story then I know, but I know enough to understand that he's been living a rough life.

I knocked hurriedly on the door to cabin nine, and Jake Mason opened the door. He smiled, running a meaty, calloused hand through his rough hair. I noticed he was missing a front tooth, almost like I was. He smelled like smoke and gasoline and burnt tires. "Hello Jay Swift!" he said cheerily. "Are you looking for Leo?"

I was about to respond when he said, "He's in Bunker nine with Calypso. And Buford. And Festus. And Chico, Harpo-"

I held a hand up. "I get it, I get it. He's mechanical Snow White. Thanks Jake!"

Jake nodded before closing the door.

I shook my head at the thought of Leo Valdez. _The kid would probably marry Festus or the_ Argo ll _if he could,_ I thought with a smirk.

I took in a breath before starting on the long route to Bunker 9.

Ever since I had come to the forest with Jack, I could never quite see it the way I used to. It made me feel like I was in a green freezer and the food inside of the freezer was alive. This was creepy on _so_ many levels.

I tried humming the first song to pop into my head, which was that one from the Wizard of Oz: "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!" it got me thinking of when Will and Nico had dragged me into these woods, on the exact route to the bunker, looking for Leo. Such good times…

Before long, I got really into the song, singing it and skipping along to the rhythm. By the time I reached the Bunker, I was winded from all my skipping. I got up to the big red doors carved into the cliff before knocking.

"Come in!" called Calypso's sweet voice, accompanied by the squeak of machinery and Leo cursing in Spanish.

I opened one door cautiously, to see Calypso doubled-over in laughter at Leo, who was standing there and glowering in nothing but his boxers at a workbench. Before I could join in the laughter, the workbench stood up, blew more fire to an angry Leo, and then waddled off as fast as a workbench could.

I covered my eyes at the sight of Leo. "Gods of Olympus Valdez… Put some clothes on!"

Buford the wonder table came waddling out of nowhere, his holographic Coach Hedge copying what I had just said, but in a louder, deeper voice: "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

Calypso finally managed to compose herself.

"Calypso- I swear if you don't-"

Leo got cut off as Calypso opened her mouth and omitted a high pitched whistle. The wonder workbench came waddling back with a fresh set of clothes and dropped them at Calypso's feet before going off again, but this time _not_ blowing fire and burning Leo's clothes into nothing. She handed the threads to Leo calmly, as if they had been doing this for a long time. Leo quickly put them on before coughing awkwardly. "Between the three of us and Buford, that never happened."

I nodded, eager to wipe away the memory. "I got it. But why… what's wrong with that workbench?"

Leo produced an oily rag from his tool belt and wiped his hands onto it. "Well, you know how I have all these little living _amigos_ helping with my stuff right? Sunshine over here wanted her own personal workbench, so I gave her one, and it may or may not have fallen in love with her…" The Latino shuddered.

"Google does not like Leo anymore, because he knows that we're together. So they are kind of fighting for me right now…"

I stifled the laughs threatening to spill out of my mouth. "You named it Google? Google the wonder workbench?"

Calypso shrugged. "Google is helpful. I wanted my workbench to be helpful too."

Leo shook his head. "I should have just given you Harpo or Chico or something. But bronze bull's girls, we have to put an off switch on that thing."

Calypso and I both tried to stifle our laughter, and Calypso was shaking with the effort. But at the last moment, she managed to compose herself. "So, uh, Jay, why are you here?"

I twirled a finger through my hair. "Well, I'm here to see Leo… about a prank."

The Latino grinned like a madman as he rubbed his hands together. "If it involves those Aphrodite kids, I am _so_ in."

I grinned back. "Then you're going to love this…" I began to whisper the plan into his ear.

* * *

I looked myself in the mirror warily. Ash hovered next to me, watching her reflection and fastening a small necklace onto her neck. The pendant, a small dove, rested against her collar bone.

I looked, well, normal. Casual. It wasn't an actual huge 'drink-or-die' party, more like a meet up between a large group of friends. With a lot of snacks and music. I was wearing the mascara again, and Ash had painted my nails blue with cheap dollar store nail polish (she explained that she had to get Connor and Travis to get it for her). I had changed out of my Camp Half-blood shirt, and was now wearing a white short sleeved shirt and a leather jacket. Both clothing items had been lent to me by Ash, but it was a mystery as to how she obtained the clothes.

Ash grabbed my hair and began to braid it, but I pulled away. "I like my hair like this." It was true. Sure, Ash had kind of changed me, but I was still, in a sense, very like the old me.

My heart raced as Ash checked a golden wristwatch she was wearing, which matched with her golden earrings. "Let's get going Jay. The party starts in ten."

I grinned, playing along to the master plan Leo and I had created. "Great. Um… I'll just be in the bathroom. Need to make a call and stuff…" I shuffled towards the bathroom and locked the door.

"Leo?" I said into my phone.

His voice answered seconds later. "Sup. I've got Will and Nico convinced. But I think we still need time…"

I grinned. "It's fine. Just get the plan in motion as soon as possible…"


	16. Getting Back on Track part 2

Nico's POV:

"I don't see why I should agree to this!" I argued, feeling annoyed with Leo Valdez. If that boy wasn't here, the camp would probably be able to sleep without fear of waking up to a world of pranks, but of course, that probably wasn't happening. _So that's why they never took him to New Rome… Gods! It's been a while since I've checked on Reyna!_

Will had been dragged into this mess too, so I had to assume this was about Jay. That girl was something too. She was my friend, in a sense. Sure, we've been apart for… who knows how long, but it always made me feel bad when I realized that. Sure, she had thrown that grape at my head, but she had temper. I've learned to cope with temper, thanks to Coach Hedge and his baseball bat.

Come to think of it, I may as well trust her more than Will. I had told her my secret. She promised to keep it.

She had lifted my burden.

Will snapped me out of my thoughts. "C'mon Nico. I know you want to join in."

I wrinkled my nose. "What're we even doing, first of all?"

Leo muttered something in Spanish before tossing me and Will each a small pouch. I caught it with ease, but Will fumbled before dropping his. "Jay needs our help with a prank. She enlisted you two, but like Hades I know why. Why she chose you two _amigos_ instead of Travis and Connor… that's beyond me."

Something felt right about his explanation. Was she trying to make up for her stupidity… er, _our_ stupidity?

"Inside these baggy thingies," Leo explained, holding up his own pouch, "is a ball. But after you say the code word, which is… S-O-R-R-Y – don't know why Jay used that word as a code name, but still – it will give you ten seconds to retreat before it blows up into a _lot_ of blue slime. Jay helped Calypso and I come up with the formula!"

Those words made me grin, which started to hurt my face. " _Jay_ came up with this plan, Leo?"

He nodded.

Will glanced at Leo, then at me. "Um, we're joining in on this, right Nico?"

Despite the eagerness inside of me, I hesitated. Then I thought: _C'mon, Nico. This is Jay you're talking about. You remember? Burden?_

"Yeah. We're in."

Leo sighed in relief. "Great! Now, I just need to make a phone call… Hold on a sec!" he shuffled away before pulling out his phone, an alarmingly wide grin on his face.

Will brought his attention to me. "You think she's up to something, don't you?"

I snorted. "Duh, this is Jay we're talking about!"

The son of Apollo smiled. "It's nice to know that we have someone nice enough in our lives like Jay."

 _We_. I struggled to find words. "I… yeah. Despite her temper, and her throwing that grape at my forehead, she really is an… ideal friend."

Will cocked his head at me. He looked at a loss for words too, but I didn't see any reason for that. "You… you've changed, you know?"

I felt blood rush to my cheeks, but I couldn't understand why. I looked at my hands. "I… what do you mean?"

Will laughed. "You never would have agreed to this a year ago." He paused to grin. "You're warming up to me!"

I felt my jaw clench. "Took a while, I guess," I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Leo took that time to come back, and I took in an inward sigh of relief. "Jay's expecting us in half an hour to crash the party. But-"

"Hold up!" Will cried. "Party? She was invited to a party? Without me?" I shoved him playfully.

Leo snorted. "Wow guys. Hate to break the _bromance_ , but you two are going to have to stop arguing. She's going to put on a big show to humiliate Ash, in fact, she's going over to that party with Ash right now. She didn't explain to me exactly what she'd do, but I know it will be laugh-worthy. Then she'll yell, really, really loud: Sorr-" he stopped himself nervously as he remembered the pouch. "She'll say the code word, then we'll run in, crash the party, and get out. Understood?"

Will mocked him with a salute. "Yes sergeant Valdez."

Leo and I both rolled our eyes.

Jay's POV:

Screw what I said about this party – this was no friendly meet up (no one was drinking, thank the gods). There were a lot of campers, and the cabin seemed to expand every time someone entered to make space. On the back wall was an assortment of treats – Jack would probably kill to eat those. The bunks had been pushed to the side, and a few couples were dancing casually in the middle of the room to some music.

The weird thing was, I barely recognized anybody there. I had never interacted with every single camper – heck, not even half of the campers! For once, I didn't mind Ash sticking by my side. It would make our little 'show' the more interesting.

Despite all my harsh thoughts, something inside of me felt for Ash. Sure, she was the cause of most of my problems, but, to be fair, she is human. I'm not making exceptions for people who are half-god, because all of us – Me, Nico, Will, Dan, Jason, Gabby, Dawn Nyssa, even Jack – we are far from perfect. Life's helped me realize that, that's for sure.

"So, uh, Ash?" I asked.

"Hey!" Ash called, her attention no longer on me. "Cynthia! What are you doing with my boyfriend?"

 _Boyfriend_?

Two figures emerged from the awkward crowd: A Latino girl with unruly cinnamon hair, and a buff boy holding a glass of fizzy soda. "Hey Ash!" he called, handing her the drink. The girl – Cynthia – smirked knowingly at the two, and I felt something inside of me revolt in disgust.

"I… Ash? Who are these people?"

"This is Cynthia, from the Nike cabin. And this is my boyfriend Mason, from the Apollo cabin."

I squinted at Mason warily. He didn't completely seem like an Apollo kid, aside from his ratty, dirty blond hair. His eyes were black, unlike Will's, which were a beautiful blue. But that wasn't what was bothering me. _I swear to Zeus that Ash just said she was into Will Solace…_

Thunder boomed a little way off.

"But _Ash_!" I cried, my voice slowly turning into a whine. Come to think of it, this place didn't exactly seem like my forte. It wasn't… comfortable.

Ash surprised me by rolling her eyes. And she _never_ , _ever_ , _ever_ did eye rolls. "What, _Jayden_?"

I tried to clench my fists at the annoying name. It just didn't ring, and I didn't like it one bit. "I thought… you said that you liked Will!"

Ash just shook her head. "That was petty. He wasn't for me. You _clearly_ had interest in him, so I was nice enough to back off!" she practically snarled out her words, and I stepped back in worry. Mason was trying to calm her down, but she just continued to rant. "You were always caught up with those two, always saying that they'd come back for you and all that schist. But guess what? This is life. No one comes back."

Heads turned towards the four of us. My hand found its way into my pocket, where the pouch of blue slime was hidden. "What experience do you have with all this heartbreak? Who's left your petty little life, huh?" I taunted letting my anger take control of me. Cynthia had backed away from the three of us, and Mason looked at a loss for words.

Ash actually snarled this time, reminding me of a wolf. It scared me to see how much her attitude had changed in a mere few seconds. "Drew Tanaka. Remember her? She was my only friend." Her eyes searched the ring of people around us. "She left for _Paris_. She said she'd come back, but she never did! Probably never will." She nearly choked on her words, and my guilt started taking the better of me.

But before I could speak-

"She left me, in this smelly camp, with you losers! Bone-heads, idiots, jerks – all of you!" she whirled onto me and jabbed a finger at my chest. "You! You're the worst of them all. You're no friend! You were practically _dating_ my crush, even when you knew I liked him! But you know what she did?" she was asking the crowd now, still pointing at me. "She let it slide! She decided that she wanted Will for her own, and that she could get what she wanted!"

A few people glared at me, but there were more haters for Ash. Especially Mason – he looked the most hurt. I felt his pain. It seemed terrible to be dating someone, who just openly revealed that she was crushing on someone else. An image of Dan popped into my head at the thought, but like Hades I knew why.

"Ash, I never had a crush on Will-"

"So I tried charm speaking you into leaving Will, but apparently, you're _immune_!"

Her words were like a dizzying blow to the chest. I stumbled out of her way like Cynthia, trying to catch my breath.

"You… you used charm speak on me?" I felt like shouting too, I felt like grabbing something and hurling it across the room. My fingers wrapped around the pouch in my jacket pocket, loosening up the drawstring and weighing the small ball of slime in my hand. I scowled at Ash, then at the crowd. "Get out while you still can," I whispered softly to some people. Only a few people heeded my warnings as I wrenched open the door to the cabin. I psyched myself up to scream 'SORRY' really loud and wait for Will, Nico and Leo to come running.

But instead, I was greeted by a gust of frosty air, and Jack's likeness appeared beside me. A few campers groaned at his cold, but they walked right past him. Mostly everyone was still glaring daggers at Ash, who was still trying to soothe her anger.

"Jack," I hissed quietly. "What are you doing?"

He waved me aside. "I'm just here to kill Ash. I heard what she said. Jay, I am so _sorry_ -"

I screamed, feeling the blue ball of slime sizzle in my palm. It was too early! "Sorry!" I shouted. "SORRY WILL! SORRY NICO!"

Right on cue, Will, Nico, and a very happy Leo came through the door, threw their blue slime balls and ran out. Will grabbed my arm before we turned and ran. I hastily grabbed onto Jack's arm, and we took off. Leo was in the lead, laughing his head off.

We stopped a few feet out of the way of the larger cabin. Jack nearly flew into me, but I managed to steady him at the last second. The five of us turned around to see blue – a lot of blue- splatter the windows. Some even flew out the door. I could hear screaming. Leo burst into laughter, but I barely registered the chaos we had ensued onto the party.

I focused my attention on Will and Nico.

Will noticed me staring first, and soon he was smiling. He elbowed Nico, who looked a little bit flustered. I shook my head. "Seriously guys, I really am sorry-"

The both rushed into my arms. I practically jumped onto Will, who grunted as Nico tried to catch us. We ended up in an awkward tangle of limbs on the floor, but I couldn't care less. "Guys… oh my gosh!"

Nico laughed, hauling me off of Will and into his arms. "My sister…" he whispered. "I've missed you…"

I nearly burst into tears as I played along. "Oh brother, my baby brother." I pulled Will into our hug, who joined in without protest. "My baby _brothers_ …"

* * *

"That was… dramatic," said Jack, as we sat by the familiar archery wall.

I rolled my eyes, too happy to care. "Whatever. I'm just in a good mood…"

Jack's eyes widened slightly, as if he had an idea. "Well, if you're so happy, would you mind giving me a kiss? On the lips? You know, to, uh, spread the joy?"

I shoved him playfully as the blush crept up into my cheeks. "Too late. The mood died."

Jack pouted, and I shook my head at him. "I was joking, silly!"

He eagerly perked up at my words, wrapping an arm around my neck. "I knew this day would come! No girl can resist Jackson Overland Frost!"

He closed his eyes and leaned towards me. But at the last second, I shifted out of his grip and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, narrowly missing his lips.

Jack opened his eyes, a humorous look on his face mixed with his annoyance. "Unfair! I think I deserve better!"

I shook my head. "Sorry not sorry, Frosty."

* * *

 **You liked it, didn't you. Those few people actually reading my story, you liked it! I see it in your eyes! XDXDXD**

 **So these two chapters seemed to wrap up a chunk of Jay's problems, but winter will have to be brought from one time or another, and will Jack Frost manage to escape by the time? dun dun dun...**

 **And yes, to Aaniya, Ash is a dark character, probably the most _yandere_ character I've ever come up with. I learned that word from Dawnlight25 :3 But luckily, Jay has Will and Nico back, with Jack too, and now they are a dream team, like Big Hero 6.**


	17. Story Time with Will Solace!

**Hi! Willowleaf the Jedi here!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

I was sitting by the canoe lake, my bare feet dipping into the water, when my peacefulness was disturbed by a happy yell. Jack sailed over me, and catapulted into the freezing water with a cheer. I backed away from the splash zone, but to no avail. My clothes were now soaked.

"Jack!" I groaned, watching as his head went under. He didn't resurface for a few moments, but I wasn't entirely worried. This was Jack, and he probably couldn't die. After all, you can't die if you're already dead! Ha!

But just for precautions, I peeked over the edge of the pier. The water rippled, and I backed away, knowing that Jack would pop up any second, and possibly try and kiss me. The thought made my nerves jangle.

Sure enough, he popped out of the water, somehow perfectly dry. "Hi Jay!" he said casually, as if he hadn't just jumped into a freezing lake. His cheerfulness was put to a stop when he noticed me sopping wet. Colour rushed to his cheeks. "Um… do you want to give me a hug?" he questioned uncertainly.

For once, I tried to control my anger. Instead of pushing him into the lake and submerging him under for the rest of eternity or stabbing him with my Stygian Iron blade, I slapped his arm. "Damn you, Jack! The water's freaking freezing!" I bet he could tell I was mad, because I never usually swore that much in a sentence, or line.

He lowered his gaze. "I'd offer to freeze the water off of you with my frost, but you'll probably just complain about the cold."

I snorted at his facial expression. "I guess it's nothing to worry about. You always make me mad."

Jack sighed in relief. "I guess getting slapped in the arm and getting countless bruises is a better alternative than whatever you're always planning."

I gave him a quizzical look as I rung the hem of my camp shirt. "How'd you know what I was planning?" I wondered.

Jack smirked knowingly. "Your eyes cloud up whenever you're mad, so I just assumed you were imagining ways to, um, _express_ your anger."

I smirked at Jack's response, already starting to make my way back to camp. Jack followed me eagerly. "Have you asked Will or Nico to read you the book yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, Jack. I only got them back last night!" I paused, letting my teeth chatter, suddenly remembering something odd that had happened after the chaos of the party.

 _"Here," Ash had commanded through gritted teeth, tears, and blue slime. She shoved a gray crystal ball into my arms, and then pulled away almost immediately. "Take it. It's not mine, I just found it. And you better not go off dating Will Solace." She stalked off haughtily._

Now I was clutching the gray ball, showing it to Jack. He jabbed at the small thing as if it could destroy the universe. "That thing! That colour! The same gray, Jay! It's the same!"

"I know Jack-"

"You know how crazy this is? This can't be a coincidence, you know?"

"Of course. There are probably fifty shades of gray, and blah, blah, bl-"

I was stopped in mid blah as I heard an all too familiar voice call me. "Jay!"

"Sorry, Jack, I-"

He smiled at me. "It's fine. I know you're happy to have them back and schist but… you won't forget about me, will you?"

The sadness in his voice sent shivers up my spine. "Of course I won't. If you want, I can ask them to read it to me today. I'll record it on my phone – or you could join!" I felt the gray ball roll around in my fingers before grabbing Jack's arm and rushing over to Will and Nico. "Hey guys!" I said, to which they both smiled.

"So, long lost buddy, what do you want to do today? It's Saturday, so we're all free, so I just figured we could spend time together – HOLY COW WHY ARE YOU SOAKED!" Will exclaimed.

"Now's your chance," whispered Jack.

"Getting soaked is the least of my worries," I fibbed, but I could tell he could tell I was cold.

I quickly let go of Jack's arm before saying, "Oh, well, I found this… this book in the woods. But it's all in Latin, and I can't read it. Do you think you guys could, uh, read it for me?" Now that I was requesting this out loud, I realized how stupid it must have sounded.

"A book in the woods," Nico deadpanned.

Jack snorted at him. "I can see why you're friends with Nico di Angelo, but Will Solace? Like, what?"

"Shut-up!" I whined, only just remembering that the two boys couldn't see Jack. I blushed. "Sorry… imaginary friends. And stuff."

Will smiled. "You know, come to think of it, I miss you being slightly out of the blue. But we should get you to dry off first. Here!" he placed a hand on my arm and muttered an incantation in Ancient Greek. Before my brain could process what had just happened, I was dry. "Children of Apollo thing," he reassured.

I laughed. "Yeah, cool. But for now, book! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

I grabbed Nico and pulled him towards my cabin. Will and Jack followed, Will looking slightly more eager, while Jack slouched. _Sorry Jack,_ I thought. _You're not the centre of my attention now… wait what? Have I really been giving him that much attention?_

"Have you been able to understand any words in that book?" asked Nico when we reached my cabin. Jack ran over and jumped onto my bed and Will followed me to my desk. Nico stood in the doorway, glancing at the bright room. "It's…"

"Bright?" Jack and Will offered at the same time. "You learn to deal with the décor."

"Yeah," mumbled Nico.

"You deal with the sun by wearing sunglasses dumb-dumb," I chided. "Being friends with _two_ hot sun children should have taught you that!"

Will raised an amused eyebrow at Nico. "You don't have that sunburn on your neck anymore, do you?"

"Ew," Jack mumbled, turning away. "Should I be here? Is this personal or something?"

The son of Hades reluctantly stepped into the room right as I found the book and handed it to Will. "Read! Read it, read it, read it!"

Will rolled his eyes as he flipped through the pages of the book. "I… whoa. That's not that complex Latin, Jay. What's Malcolm been teaching you?" he asked, somehow managing to sound like Nyssa whenever she acted like my older sister.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Chill. I've only been at this camp for two and a half months. It's almost Christmas and all that schist. Don't we get Christmas break around here?"

Nico shook his head. "Not really. We have Christmas but…" He didn't look too disappointed about the situation, but Jack and I both had mirrored expressions of shock.

"No Christmas? NO presents?" I threw my hands up. "What?!"

Nico laughed softly at my response. He looked ready to reply, but then his face clouded. "I… Jay? Is there… is there someone else in your room?" he wrinkled his nose. "I sense dead people."

Uh-oh.

Jack's POV:

OK. Nico di Angelo senses me. Should I be worried? Like Hades I should! I shook my head worriedly, hoping Jay would get the hint that I did not want to be discovered by the literal child of death.

"Oh, uh… nope! It's just me and Jack Frost!"

"Oh thank you – wait! JAY!" I yelled, tempted to freeze her under the canoe lake. She rolled her eyes at me, but very subtly, she winked.

As if on cue, Will and Nico gave sighs of exasperation. "You're crazy," Will muttered. Nico snorted.

The three of them stood there, as if trying to figure out what to do. I could tell that Jay missed them, but it still seemed pretty awkward and tense between the three. "Ahem," I murmured. "The book…"

Jay clenched and unclenched her fists a couple of times. "Right! Book! Um, could we start? This is pretty important to me."

Will looked at her sceptically. She coughed. "Me and Jack Frost, I mean!" I could tell she was unhappy about lying to him, but I walked over to her and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "It's fine if you're uncomfortable doing this or something…"

She gave me a look, as if to say: ' _Chillax. I've got this.'_ Then she sat down on her bed, followed by the rest of us. Will popped open the book, cleared his throat, and began to translate.

"The Book of Shadows… written by Francesco von-Shakespeare. Hm. That's a weird name…"

"Shaddup and get to the story already!" Jay commanded.

 _"The world is poisoned with the lore of our childhood days, of the myths and legends and stories we have been taught, and of the imaginative creatures that spring forth from these tales. Take for instance the Sandman, the dream-bearer."_

I gave a small gasp, and then Jay elbowed me. Will shifted closer to Nico as he continued to read.

 _"His myths have been passed on for generations. You may be wondering why I've decided to come to terms with these lost childhood memories, but there is something I must tell you: I am, and forever will be, one of them: A Guardian."_

Will shook his head before continuing the reading. _"The name 'Santa Claus' is yet to be known to this world-"_

"Damn," Nico mumbled. "This book is old! Even I know who Santa Claus is!"

Will glared at him but continued to read. _"is yet to be known to this world, but, once again, will become another childhood myth, a legend. But these implied legends are not what they seem; no, no! These legends are very much real. I have written this short book – I daresay it surpasses the length of a small novel – to ensure that you are made aware of the most looked-down-upon of the myths: The Boogeyman."_

I gave another small gasp. North had written this book to warn us of the Boogeyman?

 _"You may have heard the name a couple of times. We recently just defeated him, us Guardians. But the Man in the Moon_ – wait – who the heck is that?" Will asked, breaking his seriousness.

"He's a man who lives in the moon. He watches over stuff, appoints Guardians, you know, all that stuff." Jay said calmly, twirling her blue and brown hair on her finger.

Nico, oddly, snorted at Jay's answer. "Where do you get this stuff anyways?" he asked.

Jay shrugged her shoulders, trying to keep her casual face. "That's another story for another time, m'kay Death Breath?"

shoulder. I felt a pang of jealousy, before shaking my head. _Jay probably thinks I'm intruding on this moment right now. I'll come back another time._

I slipped away, out the door, and back into the cloudy outdoors of the camp.

Jay's POV:

 _Jack!_ I wanted to shout. _Where are you?_ But the white-haired boy had left, probably off to do his own bidding. I shrugged it off.

Will let me rest my head on his shoulder. "You're so cliché sometimes, but I think I'm learning to accept that," he teased.

I spread my hands. "It's not my fault. I was raised practically _surrounded_ by Disney. I have at least half of Lilo and Stitch memorized. It's freaky."

Will rolled his eyes. "So, can you, like, speak and sound like Stitch or something?"

"Who's Stitch again?" asked Nico.

I slapped his arm. "Get out. How do you not know who Stitch is? You know… _Ohana means family_ and schist."

Nico nodded sarcastically. "Right. I _totally_ know what you guys are talking about."

Will and I both burst into laughter.

* * *

I lay on my bed, looking at my face in the mirror. I was no longer wearing the mascara – but the blue hair dye was permanent. I didn't mind, though. I thought it was interesting. The blue really popped out, and –

 _Knock, knock, knock._

"Who is it?" I shouted, not in the mood to get up and open the door. "And _who_ even knocks three times?"

"It's Will, and I do."

"Oh. Come in, then." I called, watching him as he entered nervously. Something immediately didn't seem right. Will was nervous? Those two words didn't mix. Will Solace; nervous. It's like saying, Nico di Angelo; happy.

"Will? Are you OK?" I asked, sitting up.

Will shuffled awkwardly towards my desk, grabbed a chair, and sat down. "So… um… it's about Ash."

"What? Did she like, run away or something?" I asked. "Please tell me I'm wrong." I don't know why I said that last part, but I knew I wouldn't be able to _not_ feel guilty if she did.

Will scowled, and I mentally cursed myself. "She did. She left Chiron a note, saying to not go after her."

I perked up at his words. "We are going after her, though, right?"

Will shook his head. "You missed the last council meeting. We all agreed to not look for her." A torrent of emotion crossed his face, and I recognized the expression. He felt guilty.

"You heard about her, well, and how she…" I trailed off.

"How she liked me?" he asked, still scowling. "I feel like she thought that I, that I liked you, or, or…" he struggled to find words.

"What? That you liked Nico?" I questioned, kind of wanting to cheer him up. His eyebrows arched up for a split-second, but I still noticed. It occurred to me that Will (as far as I'm aware of) had never taken an interest in other girls, me being the exception, of course.

I shook my head. "Sorry. Just trying to cheer you up."

Surprisingly, he smiled. Then, as nonchalantly as possible, he asked, "So… if I said that I _did_ like Nico, would you… I dunno, be… surprised?"

I started smiling too, and answered, "No."

He spluttered, losing what little bit of confidence he had in him left. "What?! I… is it _that_ obvious?"

I rolled my eyes, starting to feel bad for his jumpiness. "I… what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Just to make sure he got the message, I winked at him. He sighed in relief, spinning my chair around in a full circle.

I laughed. "Oh Will…"

"Jay!" a voice called.

I groaned, turned over in my bed, and tried blocking out the voice.

"Jay!" he whisper-shouted again. Have I told you that Jack's really getting on my nerves?

I waved my hand at what was hopefully his face. "Don't you ever go to sleep? It's like 12 in the morning." I muttered.

"You mean 12:30."

"Screw you." I shout-whispered, sitting up. "Great, just great. You wake me up every night. I wouldn't be surprised if I became nocturnal!" I rubbed my eyes, blinking until Jack's face came into focus. His blue orbs stared into my dark brown ones. "What do you want?" I snapped, breaking the silence.

"You… are you happy about having the boys back?" he sounded sad, and that kind of troubled me.

"I… yeah. I miss them you know? Especially – ah, well, I won't choose favourites."

Jack's POV:

She turned on a lamp, and I could see that she was smiling. "Are you thinking that I'll leave you for them?"

I felt myself blush before reluctantly muttering, "Yeah."

Her big smile warmed my heart, melting me into a puddle of snow (not literally, don't worry). "I'd never leave you, you know? I mean, I know I'm already seventeen, and I must sound dumb for saying this, but I don't… I don't want to grow up."

Part of me wanted to laugh at her, but the other part of me wanted to know why. "Why?" I decided to ask.

She narrowed her eyebrows, as if she was asking the question to herself too. "I dunno… well, my five, original besties, Dawn and Jason and all of them, they played a huge roll in my life. My _childhood_. In a sense, I've lost them. I feel like if they knew that I wanted to grow up, well, I think they'd be disappointed."

I smiled encouragingly. "Children at heart, you know?" she shoved me playfully, then hopped out of her bed.

"Well, that was emotionally sweet. I say we try and get a snack. You up for cookies?" she smiled mischievously.

"Let's go!" I cheered, already beginning to fantasize all the wonderful cookies I'd get to eat and throw at Jay.

* * *

 **SO... yeah. That was a pretty lame chapter. I don't have much to say about it, so, yeah: See you next time!**


	18. Love is In the Air (but not Snow)

**Heyo! New chappie! Is my updating schedule awesome or what? (Please say it's awesome)**

 **Oh my gods! Who has watched Zootopia? It's the most awesomest thing ever!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Nico's POV:

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Ugh. What do you want, Will!" I grumbled, pulling the covers up to hide my face. It was 6:30 in the morning, and I was tired. Will, on the other hand, looked as if he had already taken a shower and was rearing to go. His blond hair had no trace of bed head. I probably looked like I was about to die compared to him.

He pulled the covers away and flashed me a blinding smile, to which I turned away and continued to groan. "Morning Mr. Sunshine!" he chirped.

"Go away."

"Since when do you tell me what to do? And since when are you this grumpy? I always wake you up."

"You didn't last week," I retorted, too sluggish to come up with a better response.

"I was in the infirmary! You missed the fight the Nike kids put up against Clarisse in Capture the Flag. Bronze bulls…" he looked like he was about to ramble on, so I sat up and forced myself to stretch.

"Gah, it's the weekend. I say you leave me alone, and let me sleep in for another ten hours, and then-"

"NO."

"Gods damn you," I grumbled.

Will sat down on the foot of my bed. "They'd never destroy my pretty face." He smirked. "Now get up. I need help with my sword."

I considered the offer for a moment. It was always fun to beat the older boy in sparring. "Fine. Just give me a few hours to get ready-"

"Nico!" Will complained.

"Fine, I'm joking, I'm joking. Now please go. I'll meet you at the sword arena." I breathed.

"Cool." He said, shuffling out of my cabin.

Once I knew he was gone, I flopped back under the covers and continued to groan. Why was Will so eager to go spar this early in the morning?

I shook my head. "Time to get up, I guess."

I changed into my day clothes, which consisted of black jeans, a black shirt, my black aviator jacket, and my blade (which was clipped onto my black belt).

I then proceeded to walk to the arena.

Will was already there, waiting for me. He was holding a sword, staring at it as if hoping it would disintegrate.

"If you want it to disappear, why are you making me spar with you? I'd rather be in my bed, snoozing for another three hours!" I whined, which seemed to get Will's attention.

Will shook his head, putting on another smile. "I was just trying to tell it to run before it gets broken by your sword."

I tried not to snort (something I've suddenly been inclined to do) as I got my sword out. "Let's just get this over with. Ready?"

"Wait!" Will shouted, a bit too loud. "If you get to use a blade that was -" he pretended his sword was an air guitar before screaming "- FORGED IN DARKNESS! Then doesn't mine get to, you know, prophesize your doom, or, heal me, or, well, anything Apollo can do?"

By that point I was cringing at how terrible Will was at singing. (It's so ironic, but it's true) "So you're asking if you can use your powers to your ability?" I didn't even stop to think about the extent of Will's power. "Go ahead. I bet I'll still beat you."

Will grinned mischievously, vaguely reminding me of Leo Valdez. "Let's go di Angelo, let's go!"

He let out a big whoop and charged at me before I could even get into a proper stance. _No, no, no!_ I thought, gritting my teeth before just barely dodging a stab to the collarbone.

His momentary surprise gave me the chance to return the blow, but I aimed it at his legs instead. Will collapsed onto the ground with an overdramatic gasp. He rolled over onto his back, which probably wasn't the best idea. His chest, his stomach, all his important organs were unguarded.

I waited for a three count for him to get up and run away, but he just lay there, smiling. None of us made a sound. I could tell he was planning something, but I couldn't quite figure out what. Will was usually one to come up with stupid diversions, and smiling was probably one of them.

"I bring this sword down on your chest, and then I win. And then I go back to sleep." I warned.

Will nodded. "Then I can leave you alone for another three hours. But if I win… you stay up with me all morning."

"You think you can win if you're already on the floor." I deadpanned. "And you're making a bet while you're at it."

"Yolo." He retorted.

"What the heck does that even- oh my gods let's just finish this already." I readied my sword, but Will seemed to have one last trick up his sleeve.

Of course. I completely forgot about his supersonic cry.

"Gah!" I yelled, dropping to the ground beside him. He must have really been trying to perfect his terrible voice, because I felt like a _cynocephali_. He kept the sound going for about five seconds, which was starting to make me feel nauseous.

The boy quickly grabbed his sword, pinned me to the ground, and jabbed it, gently, at my chest. "I win!" he whooped.

"Gods damn you Solace."

* * *

Jay's POV:

"I bet you my last cookie that I can climb up that tree faster than you!" whooped Jack, pointing at a pine tree (how we ended up here, is really still unknown). "Hey, what's that?" he suddenly asked, reaching out to touch a piece of golden fabric.

Suddenly, I recognized the tree. "Wait! Jack! Don't touch it!"

He froze up, before jumping back. "What is it?" he asked.

"That's Thalia's tree, dummy. And that's the Golden Fleece. They help enforce the boundaries of the camp. We'd be overrun by monsters if not for that thing." I explained quickly.

Jack pouted, looking tempted to kick it. "Let's take the fleece. Then the boundaries can weaken, and-"

"Jack! Did you not hear me say _monsters_?"

Jack threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine. I guess I won't be bringing winter anytime soon." He leaned against the tree, trying not to pout.

I shook my head at him. "You know, this marks the boundary. But I don't see any boundaries…"

Jack jumped up. "It's right here, you see?" he started feeling the air. "Right here. It's invisible. Touch it!"

I walked over to him cautiously. "No tricks, right?"

Jack smiled, an actual genuine smile. "I swear it on the River Styx."

I went up beside him and tried feeling the air in front of me. "Don't feel it. If you swore on the River Styx, and you lied, you might…" I trailed off, fretting silently for Jack.

He shook his head. "They can't kill me, remember?" he smirked, but otherwise didn't touch onto the subject again. "Here. Maybe you aren't feeling in the right place." He enveloped my hand in his icy one and drew it over to where he assumed the boundary was. I tried to breathe properly.

"Right… over… WAIT WHAT?!" he cried.

I could sense his distraught. The setting seemed to have shifted as the two of us toppled to the ground.

Outside of Camp Half-Blood.

Jack was the first of us to recover. Hand still holding mine, he leaped up and whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "We made it out!" he cheered.

Everything after that was a blur.

He let go of my hand.

Screaming.

Cursing.

More screaming.

And then we were just back in the camp, beside the archery arena, as if nothing had happened.

Jack yelped, grabbing me in his arms and pulling me into a hug. "What was that?!" he asked, clearly as scared as he looked. "You're OK, right?"

I hugged him back, before pulling out of his icy grip. "Fine. A little dizzy, but fine. But what happened –" I paused to look around, "And why are we back here?"

Jack shook his head, grabbing his staff and checking it for any damage. "Well, it was kind of like we were teleported. Right?"

"Right. And that happened… when you let go of my hand?"

That didn't mean much to me, but Jack furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes were wide with realization. "To get out, I have to find my fate." He looked at me expectantly, his eyes wide. "Do you think that that was possibly a… figure of speech?" his face turned a bright red, like mine.

Of course the gods, or the Guardians, or the Man in the Moon was secretly laughing behind our backs. This was just a setup. Of course Jack's fate would be me. Me, of all people.

Jack (once he got over his embarrassment) began to smirk.

"Um," I stalled, hoping he'd leave me alone, "You, know, that isn't the only reason why it could have-"

"You like me!" he shrieked, grabbing me into another hug and spinning me around. "All this time, you liked me! Of course, I'm not that surprised…"

I shovelled my way out of his arms and punched him in the gut. "You… you insufferable elf!" was the best I could come up with.

He continued to smirk (I punched him… yet he's still happy?) as I walked away. I tried to get the blush from surfacing onto my face, but to no avail. His smirk, his insufferably cute smirk, forced its way into the back of my mind.

 _Ok that's it. I'm leaving him for the time being. Maybe I'll check on Leo or something…_

Gah.

Jack's POV:

Dear gods.

She actually likes me. Like, actually!

What to do, what to do now?

* * *

 **It was short. Oh well.**

 **Poor Nico, with Will forcing him to stay up! OK, maybe it's not entirely bad... :3 I ship Solangelo like crazy...**

 **I know, the story might seem like it's going nowhere, but it will go somewhere. Eventually. MWAHAHAHAHAHA**


	19. Nico and Will Finally Do Something

**'Sup! I have a new chapter for you peoples!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Nico's POV:

"You know, Will? I think she just gave us the answer we needed."

Will stared at me like I was an idiot. "I'm sorry _what_?"

"The whole Jack Frost thing," I grumbled. "She's keeping him as a pet or something."

"Or maybe they're dating," Will offered. "I don't see why Jay would want a pet. She's not the best with animals. Sure, she can ride a Pegasus, but when she's not looking, I have to bribe them with sugar." He shuddered.

I scrunched up my eyebrows. "I can't really see her with a boyfriend either. But she's the daughter of the sun god. Er, titan, or whatever. And Jack's a winter spirit. So… uh, well, I don't know." I felt really stupid.

Will sighed, plucking a few happy notes on his guitar (we're in the Hades cabin, if you wanted to know). I picked at the holes in my aviator jacket, trying to place Will in my head once more. He was a terrible singer, and a terrible archer, but he could play the guitar, and heal like a doctor. Did he know anything about prophecy?

"Why are we caring about this anyway?" I wondered. "I mean, do we really have to interfere with a person's love life?"

Will looked like he was about to answer, but then he grabbed my wrist. "We'll finish this conversation later." He hissed, pointing at the door. Leo was standing in the doorway, staring at the two of us. I felt my heart beating like crazy as Will jumped up towards the doorway, leaving his guitar on my bed.

"Hey Leo!" he chirped. I watched as the two fist-bumped, feeling my face heat up. Discreetly, Leo Valdez was on to the two of us.

I nodded cautiously at Leo as I stood up. "What do you need?" I grumbled.

"Council meeting. Emergency one. Right now."

"Cool," said Will. "I'll go get J-"

"Not Jay." Leo said urgently. "There's a prophecy, and-"

"Right," I interceded. "Fine. Let's just get the meeting over with." On the inside, my stomach was slowly turning into mush. Another prophecy? While the seven weren't here (or at least, the six)?

Leo ushered the two of us out of the cabin, and jogged off. "Meet you at the Big House!" he shouted.

Will sighed. "The prophecy is probably about her. Why would they not let her come?" he looked distraught. "Nico-"

"Don't worry about Jay, Will. She can handle herself."

He shook his head. "Fine."

We headed towards the Big House.

The rest of the majority of the counsellors were already seated around the Ping-Pong table. I recognized all the old timers: Clarisse la Rue, Travis and Connor Stoll, Katie Gardner, and a few others. Lou Ellen wriggled her fingers at us. Clovis snored.

At the head of the table Chiron (not in horse form) and Mr. D were sitting beside Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Rachel looked like she was about to puke. Her face had a slight greenish tint, so it looked like she was a nymph.

"Hello, my camp counsellors," called Chiron. "As Leo may have already told you, we have a new prophecy. I intend to discuss it, since it covers some… unlikely problems." He turned to me, then to Will. I felt my stomach churn in anticipation. What was going on?

"Spill!" yelled Clarisse. "We defeated Kronos, we defeated Gaea, and we could take Tartarus for all I care!"

Some campers joined in, but the majority of us looked worried about the idea of facing Tartarus.

Chiron held a hand up. "No, we don't have a primordial god or titan on our hands, thank the gods. But, our residing daughter of Helios, well, prophecy."

Will made a noise as if he had been sucker-punched. "What about her? What's the prophecy?"

Rachel glanced at Chiron, who nodded encouragingly. She cleared her throat, and recited the prophecy in her normal voice.

"He of Frost and she of sun, shall meet on the day the monsters run. Until the dragon eats its prey, their forbidden love is burnt and frayed." She shuddered, and I immediately looked at Will. He was looking back at me.

Chiron coughed. "I know, at this time, romance may seem petty, but this is a prophecy none the less. We must give it our unwilling attention."

Will looked kind of excited. I couldn't understand why he was so happy about the situation. All that I felt was dread.

Chiron began to speak again. "Will, Nico, we know that you two are probably the two people Jay is closest to in this camp. Have you noticed anything… well, out of the blue?"

Connor (or Travis, I'm not exactly sure) began to speak. "Do you think she's secretly dating a son of Khione? I mean, that was pretty much what that meant. _He of frost_ , anyone?"

Leo shuddered. "Or maybe she's dating one of the Boreads."

Everyone shuddered, recalling all the stories the seven had about Zethes and Calais. As if it wasn't unnerving enough that one of them had tried flirting with Piper.

"But how would the frost hunks get into the camp in the first place?" grumbled Katie Gardner. "We better not have a secret infiltration. Again."

Everyone shuddered again – or at least, the old timers. Luke Castellan was usually a touchy subject.

Soon everyone was arguing, talking, and theorizing about Jay's romance problems. The scene felt weird, as if it wasn't supposed to happen. I mean, plotting and discussing a friend's romance problems is not what you call ordinary… unless you're a certain goddess named Aphrodite.

I tried looking at Will again. He nodded subtly at me. _Calm them down,_ he seemed to say.

I stood up quietly. Then: "HEY! CALM DOWN!"

Everyone stared at me. Lou Ellen yelped, and a poof of purple smoke rose into the air, immediately vanishing moments later… That can't matter too much. After all, she is the daughter of Hecate.

I shook my head, grabbing Will's shoulder and hoisting him up beside me. "We're her friends. You dumb- er, you guys, no next to nothing about her, so shut-up and listen to _us_."

Satisfying silence. Even Clarisse was stunned with my attitude whiplash.

"Look," Will began. "The two of us, well, we've noticed things about Jay too."

"She's always talking about Jack Frost." I continued. "Ash, maybe two months said something about her talking to herself. And, another day back I sensed something in her cabin. Like…"

"Like a ghost?" asked Leo timidly. His signature smirk had vanished, but he was still making things with pipe cleaners.

"Yeah. And she just said that it was Jack Frost."

Mr. D looked at me like I was an idiot, but otherwise didn't participate in the discussion. I was kind of glad; I didn't want a dumb wine god telling me how stupid I was sounding. As if I didn't know that already…

Clarisse and Leo were trying not to laugh. Leo was shaking with the effort, but one stern look from Chiron and their cocky grins immediately vanished.

Chiron had a look of melancholy on his face. "Jack Frost huh?" he said quietly. Then he shook his head, looking at me and Will. "Ask her what his full name is," he requested.

I felt confused. Why would he want to know this imaginary boys' full name?

"Jackson Overland Frost," Will recited, pronouncing every syllable carefully as if it was in a foreign language. I looked at him, hoping that he'd understand I was confused. _How on earth do you know his name?_ Will just smiled innocently, then sat back in his seat. I followed his example reluctantly.

Chiron's eyes widened in surprise. "Jackson Overland, huh?" he sighed. "Well that boy was something, that's for sure." He looked like he wanted to talk more on the subject, but he froze when he realized all the campers were staring at him with looks of confusion.

"Ah, that is no matter. Will, Nico, I'm trusting you two to watch over Jay as if she is your own child. I guess that otherwise, the prophecy is in Jay's hands. This meeting is dismissed – but no word gets out of what this was about. Understood?"

Several campers bobbed their heads and mumbled in agreement with the centaur. Slowly after that, the campers trickled away, back to their schedules. That left Me, Will, and Chiron.

Will, being the talkative person he was, began to talk. "Chiron, how do you know about Jackson?"

Chiron's face flashed with melancholy. "Years back, I'd say, around three hundred years ago, he was a camper. That was when we were in Europe, though. He came from Burgess. He was one of the silliest campers I'd ever taught, but I valued him none the less. He stopped going to camp when he was eighteen, and word never got out about him ever since."

Will shivered. "Jay's dating a dead old man?" I slapped his arm in annoyance.

"Maybe he isn't old. He's dead, which means he hasn't aged from the time he had died… Chiron, do you think he died, and wasn't able to come back to camp because of that?" I wondered. I wouldn't have been too weirded out about a situation like that. It reminded me of how Sammy Valdez had been waiting for Hazel to come back to him, but never did. The idea wasn't pleasant, especially since Hazel was my half-sister.

Chiron's eyes darkened, and I felt his sorrow like an oncoming storm. Of course, I had scared him with the fact that Jackson Overland was dead. "Possibly, I guess." He shook his head. "You two are dismissed. I'd like to think of this by myself."

"But-" Will started, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"If someone wants to be left alone, sometimes it's good to leave them," I mumbled once we were out the door. "He's just trying to get over the fact that he's gone."

Will crossed his arms, but decided to let that go. We exited the Big House. I followed behind Will – which was a very bad mistake. He stopped so suddenly that I pushed right into him; which resulted in the two of us tripping down the porch steps and landing in a sprawled heap of tangled limbs. I fell into Will, who grunted under what little weight that was me.

"Gah!" I grumbled as I tried to spit Will's blond hair out of my mouth. "Holy Hephaestus, wash your hair Will!" I cried, quickly rolling off of him.

Will was dumb enough to take that time to make a joke. "And you were biting my hair because?"

I tried my best not to summon a skeleton or two to drag Will away. "Because you were dumb enough to stop in front of the stairs. What the actual Hades?"

He got up and brushed up his pants. "I stopped because I just remembered something. The book Jay made us read, right? Have you noticed that, other than that of course, she's never shown any interest in books?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Nobody really likes to read, but… she is ADHD, so yeah."

Will's eyes sparkled. "Maybe she's figured out that Jack's dead, and maybe she's trying to read up on him and…"

"Figure out what's his deal?" I suggested.

"Figure out who's deal?" called Jay, who happened to be a few feet away. "I was looking for you guys! Leo said you were at the Big House, and…" she stopped herself for no apparent reason. I noticed that her hand was slowly drifting to her dagger.

I pointed. "What are you doing?"

Jay folded her arms and stuck her chin out. "Teach me how to battle, Nico. I wanna spar."

"Hey!" Will whined. "What about me?"

The two of us ignored him. "I sparred with Will, like, an hour ago. I'm tired."

"So… that's a yes?" she tried giving me the puppy-dog eyes, which was stupid. Puppies don't break the son of Hades!

"Go with Will instead." I said.

Will's eyes lit up. "Yay!"

Jay shrugged. "Fine. Let's go, Will!" she began to walk off, but Will stayed put.

"Are you coming?" he asked me. "We have to keep an eye on her." Then he smiled. "And you promised to stay with me for the rest of the morning."

I buried my face in my hands. Why was Will so exasperating? "GAH! Let's just go already."

Will smirked triumphantly, and we walked over to Jay.

Jay was already in the middle of the familiar arena, examining her dagger.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to give her a dagger made of Stygian Iron," I mumbled to myself.

Will grabbed a spare sword and twirled it around clumsily. " Let's go, Jay!" he whooped. I face-palmed as I watched the two of them. Jay wasn't quite an incredible fighter, but she could be quite the potty-mouth.

Jay tried to strike a blow at Will, but he managed to parry. She cursed loudly, to which Will shuddered. "Geez, what have you been living around?" he questioned as she tried to hit him again.

"Oh, you know, every damn gang in New York that tries to recruit me," Jay practically snarled. It seemed that she was just venting out her anger about her past on Will.

"Jay!" I shouted. "Will's not one of them. Calm down."

Jay began trying to slash at Will again, but this time with less anger. Their blades clanged together, but otherwise they remained silent.

A few minutes later, Jay had managed to almost slice Will in half. Will surrendered, and the two decided to quit and joined me on the benches. Will shook his head like he was a dog. I was surprised when no sweat rained down on me or Jay.

"You guys excited for Christmas?" Jay asked.

Will immediately perked up. "I'm going to stay with my mom for Christmas. I'll take a Pegasus there on Christmas day and surprise her."

Jay smiled, before turning to me. "Do you have any plans, Nico?"

I shrugged awkwardly. Percy, Will, Jason, and even Reyna had invited me to stay with them over the break, but I had refused all of them. "I'm staying in camp," I decided.

Will looked kind of disappointed.

"There's nothing to worry about, Solace." I reassured. "I'll survive, and you will too."

"Hey!" whined Jay. "What about me?"

* * *

 **To the people in this world who actually read this, then I think you can tell I'm slowly losing interest. But don't worry, I want to see an ending to this story. I promised myself to finish all my stories, so yeah.**


	20. YES! TELL THEM JAY, TELL THEM!

Jack's POV:

 _Maybe you should just ask her out._

"Hi Jack!" chirped Jay.

 _Nope! Never mind!_

"Uh, hi!" I responded nervously. GAH!

For the past week, I've been trying to find the _perfect_ opportunity to ask Jay out. But all I've been able to do is joke and flirt horribly with her. "Are you busy?"

"Nope. Why? You wanna go read with Will and Nico?" she wondered.

Shoving the idea of asking her out aside, I said, "Sure!" Whether I liked it or not, I'd probably be friend zoned for a while…

Jay grinned. "I'll get them, and you can get the book. We'll meet at…"

"The beach!" I offered, because I suddenly realized that I hadn't been there in a while.

Jay nodded carefully, looking up at the clouds. "Right. I'll see you!" Then she ran off.

I met up with Jay at the beach two minutes later. I had been expecting both Will and Nico to come, but it was only the blond who appeared. Jay told me that Nico was off doing something in the Underworld.

I always found it odd that Jay managed to become friends with someone as peppy as Will. But it was even more of a mystery to me when I realized someone like _Will_ would be friends with Nico. The boy seemed quite scary compared to Will, who seemed so… not scary.

"Why are you so interested in reading that book anyways?" asked Will. He sat down on my log (long time no see).

Jay shook her head, joining him. "Does it really matter? I just find it interesting. Case closed." She mimicked a fake explosion, to which Will just shook his head.

"Fine then. Pass me the book, and we'll start reading." He crossed his eyes in annoyance. "When Annabeth comes back you're never going to need me or Nico for this again…" he took the precious book from Jay and flipped through the pages slowly.

"Where were we… here!" he cleared his throat. "Blah, blah, blah, Man in the Moon. Um… _The Man in the Moon appoints Guardians every time we are in disastrous danger. You readers may be confused, since you may be wondering why this is so important. But this is more than it seems. Being a Guardian_ _does not just mean that we make kids happy. In truth, being a Guardian is much more: We must work together to protect children."_

I shivered, recalling the memories of how we had defeated the Boogeyman.

" _In truth,"_ Will continued, _"The Boogeyman can never truly be defeated. He's basically the personification of darkness, and darkness never truly disappears. Like I said before, this book was made to help you defeat Pitch Black. The Sandman has enchanted it with magic to pop up whenever Pitch Black is more of a threat than usual."_ Will stared at the book with worry.

Jay's eyes widened as she looked at me. "Oh man," I began. "This isn't good. We haven't, we've… we've only just defeated him last year! How is he…" I trailed off as Will continued to talk. Jay was now holding onto his arm tightly.

 _"He is very powerful, an ancient being made to haunt everyone. He has been known to possess things-"_

"Wait!" me and Jay yelled at the same time. Jay shot me a glance filled with fear. I mouthed to her the words 'Lily.' Could Pitch Black be the one who had done that to Lily?

Will looked kind of worried. "Jay, what's wrong?"

Jay shook her head. "If this Pitch Black dude can possess… This is really, really bad."

Will looked more confused than ever. "Do you actually believe this stuff?"

Jay nodded. "Of course I do! I-" she faltered and looked at me. It took me a while to understand what she was about to do.

She was going to tell him about me. I thought about the situation: Me and Jay, and not to mention the whole camp is in danger. It would be a good idea to have someone else on our side. "Tell him the truth." I decided. "But tell Nico too."

Will looked a bit pale. "Jay, I think you're going delirious."

Jay shook her head. "I swear on the River Styx that I'm not. And I swear on the River Styx that the things about to tell you and Nico are 100 percent true.

Thunder boomed in the distance.

Will stood up, handing the book to Jay and rubbing his temples. "Great. Just great. You're being held to an oath, no two oaths by an all-powerful god."

Jay grinned. "Come on! Let's find Neeks."

Will led the way through the forest. I sided with Jay, who was a few footsteps back. She didn't look like she was in the mood to talk to me, but she was muttering things under her breath. Probably trying to come up with the best way to break the news to them.

I squeezed her shoulder gently. She didn't exactly acknowledge the gesture, but, fortunately for me, she didn't recoil. It made me think of the whole 'finding-fate' thing, and how Jay was the answer, and that just made me blush. Thank the gods she didn't notice.

When we made our way out of the woods, Will turned on the two of us (or at least on Jay). "Do you have a drachma and a bathroom in your cabin? We need to IM Nico." I realized how sunny it was today, which I found odd because Christmas was in, like, two weeks. Then I remembered how I have not been able to deliver any snow, and that just made me sad.

Despite the fact that Will's request was odd, Jay nodded. "Of course I do. Nico's always giving me drachmas from the Underworld."

"What's IM?" I asked her. "And what's a drachma?"

"You'll see," Jay whispered as we entered her cabin.

Jay rummaged around her desk before pulling out a shiny coin. "Here, Will."

"Thanks." He took the coin and made his way into the bathroom. Jay followed him without hesitation. I had no choice but to follow her, since I wanted to know what Will was up to.

Jay stood behind Will, who was running the sink. He grabbed something pretty from his pocket – one of those glass prisms from a gift store, and asked Jay to hold it up. She tried adjusting the angle of the prism a few times, and I soon realized what they were doing: They were trying to make a rainbow.

When the rainbow, was, well, a rainbow, Will tossed the drachma into the water. It disappeared. Then he began to chant: "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept this offering. Show me Nico di Angelo!"

The rainbow shimmered, and showed Nico, his sword in one hand and a scowl on his face. There was a cut on his forehead. When he realized it was just Will and Jay though, his frown loosened up. "Oh hi. What do you guys want?"

"Can you come back to camp? Like, right now?" Jay asked.

"What happened? Why do you have a cut?" asked Will at the same time.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Sure I'll come to camp. I just had to help my father with a few spirits. Will, can you clean my cut or something?"

"Sure I can. Just come to camp, and meet us in the Helios cabin. Jay has something important to tell us." Will said.

Nico nodded. "Cool." He sheathed his sword. "I'm going black," he muttered, before waving a hand through the mist and disappearing.

He appeared moments later, casually leaning on Jay's bed. "I'm getting a hang of my shadow travel!" then he fell onto the bed with a groan.

Will rushed to his side. "Why – hey! You have a cut on your arm!" the healer eased Nico out of his aviator jacket to reveal a black T-shirt. Sure enough, there was a huge cut on his left arm. None of his injuries seemed that life-threatening, which was a relief. Will slipped into Jay's bathroom and came out with some ambrosia. "YO. Wake up."

Nico grunted and allowed Will to pull him into a sitting position. "Now eat the ambrosia," Will commanded. Nico obliged, and almost instantly his cuts began to heal themselves.

"Thanks," the skinny boy muttered.

"Now," Jay immediately began to take over, "What I'm about to tell you two cannot leave this room. Got it?"

Nico and Will looked confused, but they agreed.

"Good. Now… have you ever heard of Jack Frost?"

* * *

 **Yaaassss! YAS JAY! TELL THEM EVERYTHING!**

 **OH hey! Did I forget to mention that this is the twentieth chapter! Woot Woot! Milestone moment! Cue the streamers and stuff!**


	21. A Proposal? (HashtagNicoSaysNo)

**Hi! Willowleaf here, with a new chapter! Yay!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

"What… so you just… are you sure?" Nico asked me for what was probably the hundredth time. I would have expected Will and Nico to immediately understand the whole 'Guardians are not myths' situation, especially since, well, one of their parents were basically like myths. But the two of them were just as dumbstruck as Dan when we talked about… um, everything.

"Of course I'm right. I swore it on the River Styx – and I haven't been incinerated yet!" I shot back. I let out an inward sigh. This conversation had been going on for ten minutes, and it's going nowhere. Even Jack looked bored. He was leaning against the wall, trying (and not to mention failing) not to snore.

Nico shouldered his jacket on gingerly. "I know, but… something about it just seems out of place."

I suddenly had a great idea. I cursed myself for not thinking of this sooner. " _Di Immortales_ , I'll just give you proof!" I walked up to Jack and shook him awake. "Yo! Earth to Jack Frost!"

Will looked like he was trying not to laugh. I wondered what it looked like for them – I was probably just shaking and talking to the air. "What do you want?" asked Jack, blinking slowly. "Oh. You want to give them proof or something?"

I nodded. At least someone in this room could understand me! "Just make it snow or carry something around."

Jack looked as if he had just snapped out of a stupor, since he know had his signature impish grin plastered on his face.

He grabbed me into a bear hug and lifted me up on his shoulders as easily as someone would wear a backpack. "Jack!" I cried, grabbing onto his shoulders so that I wouldn't fall off. "I said carry something, not someone!"

Will had jumped up in shock. Nico's jaw was hanging wide open. "No way…"

I found myself laughing a tiny bit, despite the fact that Jack might throw me off any second. "Make it snow!" I told Jack.

"Your wish is my command!" he dropped me off beside Will (thank the gods), grabbed his staff, and stomped it onto the ground dramatically (like how Elsa stomped her foot on the ground and made her huge ice castle). Immediately, snowflakes began to fall slowly from the ceiling. Jack gestured around with his hands, forming a bunch of animals varying from birds to narwhals.

"Holy cow!" cried Will, trying to grab onto a snow-cat. His hand passed right through it, and it disintegrated into fluffy white powder. "So it's real…"

"Yes!" I said, grabbing him and shaking his shoulders. "Finally! You understand!"

After Jack had settled down and made the snow melt, I tried asking the two of them if they could see Jack.

"I… no." Will said first. "But I don't understand. Why can you see him, and why can't we?"

Jack, for whatever reason, asked, "Can you hear me?" he cleared his throat and in the deepest voice he could muster, he said, "Hi! I'm Jack Frost, and I'm super tough and super muscular and ripped and stuff." I elbowed him.

"Shut up. Of course they can't hear you."

Jack pouted as Will and Nico looked at me (or us?) oddly.

"Why are you telling us this, Jay?" asked Nico, who for some reason wouldn't look me in the eye.

I glanced at Jack. "Go on. Tell them what's going on. What's there to lose?" he said encouragingly.

I nervously ran a hand through my blue and brown hair. "Well… Remember Lily? That nymph?"

Will snapped his fingers. "Yeah. We had to try and cure her-"

"Do you know the full story behind, well, what happened to her?" I asked them, not feeling too guilty about cutting Will off.

Will shook his head and glanced at Nico. "Some of the nymphs told us that she was talking to someone with white… white hair… wait a sec. Was that – was that Jack?" he blinked a couple of times, trying to process the information.

"Yeah. That was Jack. And… she was just talking to him, casually, when her eyes turned this murky gray. Like… like this colour." I pulled out that crystal ball Ash had given me a while back, and handed it to Will, who then passed it to Nico. "We found out what that means: she was possessed. And me and Jack are trying to get to the bottom of what exactly possessed her."

No one spoke, leaving the bright room in a chilly silence. Literally and figuratively.

After what felt like an eternity, Nico said, "How can we help?"

"Well," said Jack sarcastically, "You can start by never leaving us in creepy silence." I slapped his arm in annoyance.

"Just… just tell me if you know anything important." I said. "We'll work the rest out."

"We do!" chimed Will.

"We don't," Nico said at the exact same time. He scoffed and glared at Will in exasperation. "Fine. We do. Just… please don't kill us about it." He began twisting his skull ring around, a habit I noticed him having whenever he was nervous. _Uh-oh,_ I thought. _Is it so bad that Nico's nervous?_

"We had this council meeting a while ago. There was a prophecy… and we think it's about you and Jack." Said Will. "He of frost and she of sun, shall meet on the day the monsters run."

"Halloween," Jack and I said at the same time. Of course, the day that the monsters run was Halloween, which happened to be the day where Jack saved me from drowning.

Will nodded before continuing to recite the rest of the prophecy. "And until the dragon eats its prey, their forbidden love, is burnt and frayed."

Jack grinned. "Oh man, Jay-"

I grabbed my dagger, which happened to be under my bed, and pointed it at him. "Say one more word on the subject and your soul will be in Tartarus."

Jack gulped, but his eyes still sparkled. "Yes ma'am."

Nico snapped his fingers so suddenly that Jack and I both glared at him. "Sorry. But, um, is anyone worried about the dragon part?"

Will's grip on the Book of Shadows tightened until his knuckles turned white. "The dragon has to eat its prey. Something tells me that prey isn't any beef jerky."

Something about a dragon unnerved me. I felt as if I should know something "I – yeah. He must be really hungry if they mention it in a prophecy."

Nico's gaze clouded for a second, as if he noticed something wasn't right about the dragon too. "Well, Jay, we're happy to help. But I don't think there's much we can do. Well, we can keep reading the book…."

Will didn't bother to hesitate. He snapped the book open to the page we left off on. _"He – uh, Pitch Black - has been known to possess things like nymphs and other mythical creatures (yes, they do exist). I advise that you stay away from anything suspicious, and avoid dreams as much as possible. Pitch has been known to meddle with peoples' minds, causing some to go insane or suffer tragic ends."_ Will flipped the page, but then a loud bang echoed throughout the room. I seized Jack's arm in fear.

Nico had stood up, his sword drawn as he circled around the room. "What-"

The book in Will's hands disintegrated into black sand. Will screamed like a kindergartener, because the sand was slowly drifting towards Nico. Said Italian's eyes began to cloud into that sinister shade of grey. Something inside of me seemed to snap. "Will – touch the sand! Quick!"

Will didn't seem to have any other plans, so we lunged at the sand. Immediately, it dissolved into nothingness and Nico's eyes came back to normal.

"Schist!" Jack shouted, stomping his feet. "The book! It's gone!"

"Jay?" Will asked, completely oblivious to the cursing Jack. "How did you know to touch the sand? And why did the book turn into that sand?"

Jack shivered. "Jay, Pitch Black uses sand – black sand – to ruin nightmares. He's on our tail."

My head began to pound. "Light and dark are like opposites. So I just assumed…"

"Pitch represents the darkness. And you and Will are the children of the sun gods." Nico said. "Smart save back there. But… was he trying to possess me?" the skinny boy squirmed as Will put a hand to his forehead.

"Pitch sensed the darkness inside of you. He must've thought that since Hades and he share the same realm… I think that thought it meant you're vulnerable." Will said. His voice was steely calm, but he looked a bit pale.

This was _not_ going to end well.

"So he took our book. And he, along with a dragon, is out for us. Great. Just great." Jack fretted. Will and Nico had left a while ago, leaving the two of us in my cabin.

"This sucks. Three months into my stay at Camp Half-Blood, and now I have a chance of dying to the hands of someone that isn't even Greek!" I added. Jack was frowning, something that didn't seem to match his personality at all.

"Jay, you know I'm not usually this serious. But Pitch can enter the camp just as easily as I did." He shuddered. "He could be possessing anybody in this camp right now. Except for that drunk wine god, but he's pretty useless."

I snorted in agreement. "But it just sucks, you know? I feel like… this camp doesn't feel safe anymore. I _wanna_ leave, even if only for a little bit." I glanced at Jack, who was staring at me in amazement.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously."

Jack ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I want to leave too. I need to bring winter… I'll take you!"

"What? But how? I'll just slow you down, won't I?"

"Not if you're flying. In case you haven't noticed, I'm as strong as Hercules. I can carry you, and we'll fly off!" he boasted.

"You're not as strong as Hercules. And I don't really think I want to fly." I shuddered, remembering all my near death experiences with flying. The thought was already making me sick.

Jack punched my arm playfully. "But I need to bring winter. And I can't get out of the camp without you. So unless you want a bunch of Canadians complaining about the warm, then I'm dragging you along." His voice was deadly serious.

"… fine."

Jack got up happily. "Cool. We leave tomorrow. You can meet me at Thalia's tree during that sing-along thing." He started walking towards the door, leaving me shocked that he didn't _once_ flirt with me. "See ya!"

"Bye Jack!"

 _Tap. CRASH!_

I whirled around, only to see Nico and Will, and a broken window.

"Dammit you guys! Jack just fixed that window!"

Nico jumped over the wreckage they had ensued, Will following much more carefully. "What was he doing here? With you?" Nico questioned.

"He's always here," I said warily, already having a good idea of where this conversation was going.

"What did he say?" Nico persisted.

I sighed. "He proposed to me th-"

Nico's eyes widened. "I'm going to beat the schist out of that winter spirit!"

"Nico!" I cried. "I'm older than you, at least by the looks. And I didn't finish what I was saying. He proposed to me that he'd take me to bring winter with him tomorrow."

Will smirked. "I told you Neeks."

Nico still looked kind of mad. "Don't call me Neeks! It's childish! And you're not going with Jack, Jay."

I rolled my eyes at the fifteen year old boy. "What, so now you're my mom?" I said sarcastically.

Will doubled over in laughter. I couldn't help myself – I joined in.

Nico still seemed to be fuming. "I will kill you all! I'll do it!"

* * *

 **Hmm, does this count as Jack finally obtaining a date with Jay? You dudes can be the judge of that.**

 **Well, anyways, hope you people enjoyed! Review and favourite and all that schist.**


	22. And Let Me Kiss You

**HIIIIIIIIIII! It's me!**

 **I won't bother you, just get to the story!**

 **... And ENJOY!**

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Jack's POV:

 _Just take a deep breath. You can totally do this. If you're calm about the whole situation – GODS OF OLYMPUS WHERE IS THAT GIRL?_

So much for being calm about this.

I think you get the situation I am in right now: Tonight, I'm supposed to take Jay out and bring winter. Does this count as me finally obtaining a date? Probably not. But I guess it's only fair to treat it like one. I mean, if Jay really does like me… uh… yeah…

"Can dragons like you sense emotion?" I asked Peleus, who was curled around the tree, snoozing peacefully. But he mumbled in his sleep, as if to say, " _That's just rough buddy."_

"Jack?" called a voice.

That was enough to jolt me out of my train of thoughts. "Jay? I'm over here!"

Sure enough, Jay stumbled out of the trees in front of me, a guarded expression on her face. I could tell she was nervous, since it had been made pretty clear that she was not meant to fly. "Uh, hey." She mumbled, looking at her worn out sneakers.

I felt kind of bad for making her that nervous, but I knew there was no turning back now. "You ready?"

She nodded, slowly zipping up her bright yellow winter coat (courtesy of Calypso). "Uh, yeah. But how exactly is this going to work?" she asked.

"First, we'll walk a little away from here, just so that no one knows we left. Then you hop on my back, and we're off!" I explained.

Jay looked surprised. "You surprise me with your plans sometimes. You don't seem like a plan guy. Oh, and Will and Nico know I've left. Nico says that if we're not back at camp by six tomorrow, he'll find a way to kill you." She rambled.

I tried not to blush. "Yeah, well, that's that. Now let's go."

* * *

"I guess this is far enough." I squatted down so that Jay could jump on my back. "Come on!"

"I dunno, Jack, I mean…"

I got out of my awkward position and turned to face her. "What, do Helios kids have a bad history with flying?"

Jay blinked a couple of times. "Actually yeah. One of his children, Phaeton, tried driving his sun chariot, then fell into the o-"

Without hesitation I grabbed her outstretched hand and jumped off the ground. Jay began to scream. "Damn you Jack!"

My laughter echoed into the night sky. "Swear at me again, and I'll drop you so you can go off with Phaeton."

Jay stopped swearing, but started screaming as we flew higher and higher, till a good chunk of New York spread out before us like a quilt. I knew that I would never drop Jay on purpose, but clearly she had little faith in me. She was holding onto my hand so hard that I thought it might fall off. Her knuckles were white.

"This is impractical," I muttered. "Fine! You get your way! I'll put you on my back, but you have to stop screaming!" I shouted over the wind.

That shut her up for a bit, giving me enough time to bend over and scoop her up onto my back, so it felt like Jay was a backpack… Except she had her arms around my neck. And her chin nestled in my hair. I had to try really hard not to accidentally cause a blizzard. But it was nice, seeing that she was finally comfortable.

"See? This isn't so bad!" I called over the wind, releasing flurries of snow in large bursts.

"Yeah! I guess it isn't so bad!" she shouted back uncertainly. "Hey New York! This is for trying to hunt me down and calling me a criminal!" she whooped, acting as if she was the one making it snow. I just laughed. _Let her have this moment. Just for her._

I could imagine Jay smiling as she shifted herself so that her head was leaning on my shoulder. "So we're pulling an all-nighter?"

I rolled my eyes, but my heart had probably already skipped a thousand beats. "Heck yeah! You think I can fly around the world in two minutes?"

"Of course you can't. Let's just make it snow."

After that, things got a little bit more interesting.

Jay and I had managed to make it snow in North America by 11:00 pm. Now it felt like everything was back to normal; the Americans would be complaining while the Canadians would be rejoicing by the next morning.

And best of all? Jay seemed to have forgotten about her fear of flying – that is, until we reached Europe.

I had wanted Burgess to be our last stop, since it was my hometown. I think Jay was thinking the same thing, because she didn't question me when we finished France and zoomed off straight to China.

"I assure you, you'll like it!" I shouted over the wind as we started making a slow descent into the treetops (which were now covered in some fresh _pow-pow_ ). The full moon was out, shining so brightly you could see it from the other side of the world. The whole of the forest seemed very familiar, for which I was glad. Come to think of it, I've been feeling happier with each second. Bringing winter was actually fun. Especially when you got to throw snowballs at people behind their backs with a girl that you've been crushing on.

"I'll take your word for it," she muttered in my ear. Her breath formed miniature fumes of fog in the air, and I suddenly remembered I was probably freezing cold.

Suddenly, there was a flash of black coming from somewhere below the treetops. It startled me so much that I stopped suddenly, and Jay went tumbling off my back. "JACK!" she screamed, wriggling around uselessly in the air.

"Jay!" I shouted back, bursting off to try and catch her before she hit the ground. That left me to completely forget about the flash of black. In one swift motion, I picked her up from the air, and suddenly she was in my arms, and I was holding her bridal-style. Her eyes were glued shut. She was breathing heavily.

"Please never drop me again," she mumbled. I sighed in relief. In fact, I didn't even realize I was holding in a breath. I guess I cared for Jay more than I liked to let on.

"Oh good grief, I'll never drop you again!" I cried, wrapping an arm around her curled up frame. "You don't know how much that scared me," I added, my voice a low whisper.

Jay sighed, ruining what I thought had been a moment. "Oh yeah. I totally didn't, considering the fact that I was the person experiencing near death!" she said sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes.

"C'mon. I see my old pond from here. We'll touch down there." I said.

I waited for a reply, but she just nodded stiffly. Without hesitation, I glided down and maneuvered my way through the trees. Soon the woods opened up into a small moonlit clearing, where an iced-over pond lay, surrounded by a few lone rocks. The familiarity of the landscape was comforting, even as the memories crashed down on me. I landed on one of the rocks, and let Jay jump down to stand beside me. Oddly, she had slipped one of her hands into mine, and didn't seem intent on letting go anytime soon.

"Welcome to my place." I said, deciding to ignore her warm hand as to not ruin the moment.

Jay smirked. "What, do you live on the ice? I was expecting one of those little cottages, like the one from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."

"Well, I don't technically live anywhere. I just prefer to stay and crash at this place." I said. "I grew up here too. But, I don't know what happened to my actual house. And dwarves are creepy."

She nodded solemnly. "Of course they are."

I started helping her make her way down the rocks, but she just pulled her hand away from mine quickly. So much for holding hands and being a gentleman to her. She had managed to jump down the rocks much faster than I could have ever, and, embarrassing as it is, I gaped at her. She rolled her eyes as I floated down to join her. "I think you forgot I was a half-blood."

I let out a small laugh. "Well, yeah. Seeing as I never really watch you when you're training, and the times that I usually do see you, you're either tripping or shoving." I retorted.

Now she was laughing a bit. "If you think I'm clumsy, you should see Jason. His ' _epic ninja jumps'_ on the playground are _lame_."

I imagined a small child jumping around in a park, doing jumps with Jay, and I had to smile. "Sure. But you know what beats epic ninja jumps? Skating."

Jay didn't pale or start screaming, thank the gods, but she looked a bit uncertain. "I've never tried. And didn't you say that you died falling into ice? In that exact pond?"

I blushed. "I won't let that happen to you. I can make the ice stronger. And I'll teach you too."

Jay made a face somewhere along the lines of a sceptical pout and a scowl. I don't think I've ever seen something cuter than that, but I decided to keep that to myself. I had finally realized Jay wasn't exactly one for compliments.

"I'm going to go look around for a bit. Then we'll see about ice skating." She decided. She turned away from me and took a few brisk steps.

"Wait!" I called, bounding after her. "I'll come with you. You don't know-"

She held a hand up to my face with a smirk. "I need some alone time. You don't know how weird it is to be holding hands with you for so long. And I'll only be ten minutes." Without waiting for my reply, she walked off and disappeared in the maze of trees, almost as silently as Nico di Angelo.

I sighed, slowly walking over to the iced over pond. I hefted my staff, getting ready to layer it with thick amounts of ice, when I felt something tap me on the shoulder. I spun around, getting ready to whack whatever it was that hit me with my staff, when I realized it was nothing. "Hello?" I called, hoping that someone like Jamie or Baby Tooth (or even Jay) would pop up and call out that it was a prank, but the clearing remained silent.

I shrugged off the uneasy feeling in my gut as best as I could before turning my attention back to the pond. What I saw nearly made my heart stop.

Black, glittery sand sparkled across the ice, forming swirling shapes. No, not shapes. Letters. Words.

 _Beware, Jack Frost. I am never truly gone._

Then, the black sand shifted and depicted a scene. I knew that it was showing me Jay's cabin. Two people were arguing, and I recognized them as me and Jay. Before the image could show me anything else, the wind carried the sand away. Evil laughter ripped at the air, getting louder and stronger by the second. That could only mean one thing: Pitch was here.

A feeling of pure dread overcame me as I tried drowning out the sound of his laughter. I had to find Jay! "Jay? JAY!" I yelled, jumping off the ground and into the open air. "Jay! Come to me right now!" I yelled, hoping she hadn't gone too far.

"Jack?" called her familiar voice. She sounded worried. "Jack? I'm over here!"

I tried figuring out where she was as she kept calling out, and soon I found her. "Geez. We have to leave. We have to get you back to camp!" I fretted, once crushing her into a hug.

Jay looked sad. "What? Why? We just got here!" she babbled. "Can't we stay? You wanted to go ice-"

I grabbed her by the face and pulled her into a kiss, effectively shutting her words up – along with my thoughts. Her lips were soft, comforting even, but you don't really have to know that.

I could have stayed like that for the rest of eternity, but we broke apart exactly 5.5 seconds later. "Now come with me, unless you want to die. I know, it's confusing, but I'll explain when we're back at camp."

"Swear on the River Styx. Swear you'll tell me everything." She said, looking miffed. She was trying to fight down a blush.

"Fine. I swear it on the River Styx. Let's go!" I cried, giving her a second to hop onto my back before jumping off and into the open night sky.

 _Goodbye. I probably won't come back anytime soon._

* * *

Jay's POV:

Ok. So maybe I liked kissing Jack. But, judging by the urgency in his tone, that's not that important. As we took off into the air (great, just great), I could sense something was seriously worrying Jack. He was breathing heavier than usual, and was just as stiff as a board.

Despite him clamming up, and despite me about to explode with curiosity, I kept my mouth shut. Jack promised he'd tell me. And if he didn't live up to his promise…

"Just breathe," I kept muttering, trying to comfort the poor boy. Jack was trying to get out of the way of the land, and soon we were as high as the clouds, and I was starting to feel lightheaded. "Jack? What if we pass out? And what if Lord Zeus zaps us out of the sky?"

Jack didn't answer at first. He stuck his hand out to the side, and a swirl of ice shot out of his hand and circled around us before turning into a transparent sphere. "Force field!" Jack called.

I couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. I mean, while Jack gets all the cool ice and snow powers, and while Nico can pretty much raise the dead, I get no powers. Even Will is a darn good medic, and has his supersonic scream (or whatever it's called).

After a long time of flying, Jack told me that we were just above the woods of Camp Half-Blood. He seemed to have slacked, and his breathing had gone back to normal… But that was probably because halfway through our trip I had held his hand.

After sneaking into the camp, and dodging the glances of the harpies, we managed to make it to my cabin. I turned on the lights. Jack immediately lunged for the door, shut it, and locked it promptly. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he slid against the door and put his head in his hands. "This is bad, this is bad, bad, bad!"

Before I could interrupt him, he continued to ramble, standing up and pacing around the room. I felt concerned for him, but at the same time, annoyed because he wouldn't shut up. Well, last I remember, he shut me up by…

 _Here goes nothing._

I don't know what drove me to kiss Jack. Maybe, deep down, really deep down, I somewhat liked him. Maybe I was annoyed and wanted to see his priceless expression when we stopped. Probably a mix of both. But I did anyway, and that's that. Should I go into detail about our kiss? I'd rather not, but here it is in three words: I. Liked. It.

When we pulled away (sad, I know), Jack was smart enough to stay quiet for a bit. He looked at me, dumbfounded. Then he broke into a sly grin. "You just… kissed me."

I tried fighting the urge to smile. "Yeah, well, I had to find a way to shut you up."

Jack shook his head. He replaced his smile with worry, before hesitantly grabbing my hands in his. "I'll tell you everything. But we should do it tomorrow, so we can tell Will and Nico too. For now, go to sleep."

"I… fine." I said, opening the door and pushing him through it. "Now go!"

"But what about a goodbye ki-" I closed the door before he could finish his sentence. Once I knew he was gone for good, I crawled into my bed. My head hit the pillow, and I went into a slumber full of nightmares…

* * *

 **Yay. Yes. That happened. Now I expect a lot of reviews. :3 (Jokes. But still...)**


	23. Boys

Chapter 23:

Jay's POV:

The next day, Will and a half asleep Nico appeared in my cabin. Will had shaken me awake, to which I screamed and cursed, which was the perfect wake up call for Nico and I.

"… How did you guys get in here? I thought I locked the door…" I tried blinking the sleep out of my eyes.

"Shadow travel." Will and Nico chorused.

"He made me do it!" Nico added.

I sighed as the events of the other night came crashing down on me with the force of a Pegasus hoof to the gut. Flying had made me quite dizzy, and kissing Jack was… wow. Come to think of it, I had a serious headache. My hands flew to my temples instinctively.

Will grinned, producing a Ziploc bag of ambrosia out of seemingly nowhere. "Thought you might feel a bit dizzy. Flying can be _such_ a pain." He tossed the bag to me and I opened it. The food of the gods smelled and tasted heavenly, and I gulped it down immediately.

"Thanks," I said, savouring a small square of the Kinder Surprise tasting stuff before Will took the bag from me. "Never consume too much or else you might-"

"Burn into ashes?" called a voice from the door.

"Burn into ashes," Will finished, completely oblivious to Jack as he stepped into the cabin without invitation.

"Hey Princess!" he called mockingly.

"Ugh, Jack's here you guys!" I informed Will and Nico. Nico rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't react too much to the situation.

"How was your date last night?" asked Will teasingly. Jack and I both stiffened.

"It wasn't a date!" I called, but at the same time Jack launched a bunch of floating icy letters into the air for Will to read.

 _ShE KISsdE mE!_ It read. I face-palmed. Jack had terrible handwriting!

"To be fair, you kissed me first!" I snapped back, trying not to go red in the face.

Nico's hand was at his sword. "Where is he? 'Cuz if he really loves you, I'm going to do the death-threat thing to him first!"

At this point I didn't know whether or not to:

-A) Hide in a corner  
-B) Scream  
-C) Punch Jack in the face  
-D) Laugh at Jack because he looked absolutely terrified, or  
-E) None of the above.

I settled for none of the above and told Nico to calm down. "It's not important," I fibbed.

"Uh, yes it is!" all three boys said to me at once. I groaned, tempted to throw a pillow or that crystal ball (under my bed) at one of them.

"It's not important." I repeated. "We have bigger problems on our hands."

Nico shook his head vigorously. "Are you blind?!"

I sighed, knowing that this was an argument I was not destined to win. "Then… then what do you want us to do about… whatever is happening?"

Will grinned. "I thought you watched Disney movies."

My mind blanked. Clearly Disney hadn't fulfilled its roll in my life.

"Talk to him!" Will said when he knew I wouldn't be answering anytime soon.

"… about what?"

Nico sighed. "OK, this is clearly going nowhere. I'll start the conversation, and then Will and I will leave. Jack, wherever you are. Do you like her or not?" Before waiting for an answer, he grabbed a protesting Will by the arm and dragged him out the door.

Jack blushed before muttering something and immediately looking at his bare feet.

I swept the blue and brown hair from my face. "I'm sorry what?" I asked teasingly.

"IthinkIreallylikeyou." Jack muttered, a little louder than the first time.

"One more time?" I said, getting up to stand in front of him and cupping a hand to my ear.

He stamped his foot. "Hey!"

I smirked at him, and he sighed.

"I. Jack Frost… Really, really have a huge crush on you!" he shouted, before putting a hand to his face. "Please don't kill me Jay." He whimpered.

Now that he had actually admitted, I found myself tongue tied. I decided to keep quiet and see what he'd do next.

He kept a hand protecting his face, but straightened up and looked at me between his fingers. "… Do you like me back?"

"… yeah, I guess." I said, trying to keep my voice level.

Jack blinked, as if he was trying to wake up from a dream. He lowered the hands from his face before pulling me into a hug and swinging me around.

He then put me on the ground, pulled me towards him, and grabbed both of my hands in his. "Jay Swift, will you give me the honour of… of being your boyfriend?"

I felt my face heat up. Anymore blushing and I'd be off like Phaeton. "You idiot! No!"

Jack leaned over me, pouting his lips and putting his hands together as if he was praying. Now his height was really bothering me. Why did the cute boy always have to tower over the girl he crushed on? Was this a law from Aphrodite or something? I mean, if midgets like Dan and Jason can (or did) exist, why couldn't Jack be one of them?

"Pretty please?" His eyes sparkled. "I thought you got over my _incredible_ annoyingness." I'll admit, deep down that having Jack as a boyfriend would be a plus to my life, but…

I sighed, stepping away from him. "Sure I did. It's just… The forbidden relationships always end up in someone dying almost all the time!" I remember the time Nyssa, Dawn, Gabby, Jason and Dan had all watched our school preform _Romeo and Juliet._ While all of them were talking about the whole kiss scene, I was internally freaking out about the fact that they _died_.

"Almost all the time. Not all the time. And how would that even be forbidden?" he asked.

I clenched and unclenched my fists a couple of times. "Sun. Moon. Heat. Cold. Half-Blood. Guardian. They're all opposites! My father… Helios didn't exactly approve of me helping you, you know? I've tried getting him out of my head, but he was talking to me about you in my dreams last night."

Jack looked disappointed. "Can't you just think about it for now? Please Jay? For me?"

That seemed like a fair deal. And it only seemed fair that I would give him a chance. "Fine then. I'll give you an answer… next week. Christmas Day."

Jack's eyes widened. And… was that fear? "So if you say yes, I'm happy. But if you say no… I'll be heart broken."

"Now that you say it that way… yeah."

Jack was silent.

"Hey… if I say no, than, I guess you should know you'll always be a friend." I suggested, trying to lighten his mood.

He smiled lightly. "Now let's go get Will and Nico."

I made my way to the sdoor and wrenched it open. Nico and Will had probably been leaning against the door on the other side, because Will fell, bringing Nico down with him. I sighed. "Eavesdroppers," I muttered, giving Will a hand.

He brushed himself off sophisticatedly. "Yeah, yeah. Now that that's over with, back to the more pressing matters."

I sighed. "Jack, explain to us. I don't care how, just do so now."

Nico, Will and I hopped onto my bed as Jack stood in front of us. Then he began to speak, the words forming in ice in front of him for Will and Nico to read. "Last night, I let Jay meander on her own while I stayed by this iced over pond. And then Pitch started talking to me and showing me scenes and writing in his signature black sand and stuff."

I was taken aback by two things: 1, PITCH, and 2, the way he said that. I mean, it was so random yet serious and important at the same time, and he said it as easily as someone might say _Hello._ If Will or Nico had been drinking from a soda can, then they would have probably spit it all out in one of those cliché spit-takes.

"Way to sum it up," Will commented the air. Jack snorted and with a swipe of his hand opened the door and blew the floating-letter-word-things away. And yes, I still feel quite jealous of him and Nico. It makes me kind of glad that I was never able to get to know Percy Jackson that well. Apparently, he and Jason are powerhouses.

Nico wasn't in the mood to make snarky comments like Will. "So Pitch is getting more powerful by the second. We're losing time. We're going to need a plan, and fast."

Will sighed. "Know would be a good time to have a magical item on our side like that book of shadows."

The room was silent, and suddenly something dawned on me. "… What if we do have a magical item?"

I was met with uncomfortable silence. Jack had his head tilted to the side, glancing at me all clueless.

I sighed. "Guys. In the stories, what do the dragons usually have in their possession?"

"Treasure!" Said Will.

"Stupid riddles," Nico offered.

"Ladies!" Jack concluded.

"No you twerps! Crystal balls!" I said, knowing that they weren't going to get the answer to that anytime soon.

"Oh," Jack said. "Wait a second… that crystal ball that Ash gave you…"

I nodded. "I never exactly knew how Ash came to find the stupid thing. She just gave it to me." I reached under my bed and pulled it out.

Nico nodded quickly, as if he had been struck by lightning or gotten an electric shock. "You think that the stupid crystal ball belongs to the dragon from the prophecy."

"Yeah. If we give it to him like a peace offering, then maybe it won't eat its… prey, whatever that is."

Nico's mouth twitched. "I dunno. It's a good plan but…"

"Trying to twist prophecies up is never a good idea." Interfered Will. "If Percy had never followed the prophecy and hadn't given Luke Castellan Annabeth's dagger, then we'd be dead meat." He shuddered. Luke Castellan had always been a pretty touchy subject – and yes, I've heard the stories about him. I glanced at Jack, who blinked, as if trying to recall if I had talked to him about Luke. Clearly I hadn't. I gave him the signal not to talk about it.

"What… so what else are we going to about our problem? Do we want the Dark Ages on our hands again?" I countered, not liking Wilsl and Nico's point of view on the whole situation. Sure, the whole thing about Luke had been pretty solid evidence of their argument, but I felt as if something terrible would happen if we didn't take action.

Nico rubbed his eyes, and I suddenly realized how tired he was looking. "Jay…"

I didn't exactly know what to say. Was I just supposed to agree with him and let the Fates decide our… well, fates? Something about old grandmas deciding whether or not we should die or not kind of terrified me.

But then again, Nico was kind of an expert when it came to this field. He had let fate and destiny bring him to where he was now, and so did Jack. Two of the boys I loved (um…) were perfect examples of what Nico assumed was right. So all I had to do was trust him on this and…

"Fine. We can let the Fates run this course. But we take action in most dire need."

Nico flashed me a strained smile, but a genuine one none the less. Will squeezed my shoulder. "This is for the sake of all of us."

I nodded, trying to act like I agreed, but on the inside I felt torn. What if I was making a mistake – what if Will and Nico were making a mistake? What would the world come to then? I could only worry.

* * *

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Ugh… Who is it at this ungodly hour?" I groaned.

I could imagine Nico rolling his eyes as he entered. "And Will says I have a terrible sleeping schedule." He flickered the lights on and off a few times to annoy me.

"Stop it Nico!"

"Ha ha ha no." he said, deadpan. His voice, know that I was paying attention to it, was louder than usual, and… deeper.

I rolled out of my blankets and checked the time on my phone. It was 4:30. Then I glanced at Nico.

And I screamed.


	24. I don't know what to name this chapterrr

**Ok. I didn't say this last chapter, so I'll say it now. I'm terribly sorry about that three or four (lost count) period where I did not update. Seriously. I don't know what happened. My teachers seemed to suddenly think, "Hey, these kids didn't have that many projects this year, let's give them FIVE different projects for them to complete in this one month period and give them lot's of stress!"**

 **It really sucked. And I'm terrible at managing time. I'm in sixth grade, don't blame me.**

 **Oh yeah, and Trials of Apollo JUST HAPPENED. SOLANGELO is a thing God bless Rick Riordan! I was fangirling and hyperventilating for five minutes straight when I read about Will and Nico. And YASSSS LEOOOOOOO!**

 **So here. Things are about to get interesting for these guys... and surprise, surprise, I have a friend with me today!**

 **Will: 'Sup.**

 **Me: Say hello to Will Solace everybody! Let's say it together Will -**

 **Will and me: ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

"Jay? JAY! Wake up!"

I sat up abruptly and my forehead collided with Will's.

I blinked tears out of my eyes. My voice was hoarse as I managed to croak out, "What happened?"

Then I realized I was in the infirmary. Will and his fellow siblings, Austin and Kayla, along with Nico, Chiron (in wheelchair mode) and Jack (touching, I know) where huddled around me.

"You were screaming," Nico explained, his voice soft. "You said something in your sleep. Jack-"

"Nico, that is enough," Chiron said, his voice tight. "You and Will can explain everything to her in a little bit. Let Jay settle down first."

Chiron wheeled away, muttering something I couldn't quite hear. My thoughts raced as I recalled my horrific nightmare: That monster, disguised as Nico…

I suddenly felt the urge to barf.

I must have suddenly paled quite a bit, because Will grabbed a plastic basin and handed it to me. Everyone turned away as I barfed out the contents of my last meal. Oh…. I hope you're not eating while reading this. I'll just skip ahead…

* * *

After a while, Will, Nico and Jack walked (or carried) me back to my cabin. Nico had a platter of grapes that he gave to me, deciding that I had gotten enough weird stares from the campers for one day.

"Thanks. I feel like a god."

Nico shoved me and sat on the edge of the bed. "You're welcome," he said flatly, picking a grape from a stem and popping it into his mouth. "Now spill," he ordered, carefully trying not to get grape juice everywhere.

I pouted. "I had a bad dream."

Jack snorted, balancing on one of the bed posts. "Super descriptive, _Princess_."

Why Jack had started calling me Princess was unbeknown to me, but I didn't really care. It was sweet and all… but we had other things to worry about. Romance seems pointless in my case.

I sighed and recounted my short dream but left out… some parts. I feared that Will or Nico or Jack would march straight into the open and find the beast if I told them the ending to my dream. Oh, and like Hades am I gonna tell you! You'll find a way to contact them and…

Will cringed as I described the monster that I had assumed was Nico. "His face morphed into this gray dragon, and…"

"Again with the dragons," the son of Apollo noted, but he was pale and was holding onto Nico's arm tightly. Nico was trying his best to look annoyed. Don't get me wrong, they're cute together. It reminded me of how Gabby used to act around Dawn… such memories were the highlight of grade six, where Dan would constantly whisper about the two of them to me… I hope none of them are reading that right now.

"I don't know about you," Jack said, getting my attention, "But I have a feeling that Pitch is possessing this mystery dragon." His tone was serious, and his expression was grim for a change. It made me feel jittery.

"Dreams, even though they can help, are always a bad thing." Will pointlessly offered. I was glad he didn't see Jack's expression right now. The fact that Jack wasn't pulling out corny jokes was really putting a damper on my mood. If it could make Will scowl, I'd lose all my sunshine.

"Can we have a plan of action now?" I asked Nico, who was hesitantly popping another grape into his mouth. "Everything's changing. Maybe we should inform Chiron about Pitch-"

"NO!" Nico yelled, springing from the bed and stomping his foot on the ground of the cabin. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just run a marathon. This time, he had managed to spray Will with a bit of the grape juice before quickly wiping his mouth. "Sorry, Jay, Will… Jack. It's just…"

The room was silent. Jack glanced at Nico warily; as if he was scared he'd lash out and spray grape juice on him.

Nico sighed and put his head in his hands, the way Nyssa used to when Jason or Dan did something irrationally stupid. "It's just… the Olympians know of the Guardians."

Jack blinked. "Is that a surprise?" he questioned, hastily remembering to use those frozen ice letters for the sake of Will and Nico. "They're immoral all powerful beings. They should know if Santa Claus is real or not."

Nico nodded. "No, Jack it isn't. But…" he twisted his skull ring a few times. "Remember how when the Roman and the Greek gods started getting those split personality headaches? With the Guardians, the gods are in a similar situation. But… because the Guardians' main priority is children, the gods never worried about them overpowering them. But lately…"

He glanced at me. "You are a child of the gods. And you've come into the care of a Guardian. The Olympians… they must be mad." The way he said that sent shivers down my spine. It was as if he was calling me a mistake. And I didn't like that.

Will rubbed his hands together. "They might be mad at Helios. Maybe that's why he doesn't like you hanging around Jack…" I paled, suddenly blinded with an uneasy thought. What if Helios thought of me as a failure? Did he think Jack was an enemy? Did he fear the downfall of his reputation because of me?

I remembered how, in grade six, Nyssa pretended to be the mom of Dan. That is, until he started joking about whom the father was. Then she disowned him and adopted me. Funny how I can call upon these pointless memories at the oddest times, right?

* * *

That night, I had another dream again. But this time, it was worse.

I was outside my cabin, looking out one of my huge windows. The breeze was blowing against my pyjamas, but nothing seemed to bother me. I continued to peer out the window.

I saw myself lying in my bed when I heard a knock on the door. The Me in my bed got up, yelled, "Come in!" and turned on a lamp.

NO! I wanted to scream, terrified of the monster Nico would turn into. But, apparently, someone had put me on mute. I was powerless to myself.

Then, I realized that the person wasn't Nico, or a monstrous dragon.

It was Jack.

Something wasn't right with him. His hair was neat, gelled over the back of his head so he no longer had that wild childish look. He seemed taller, and somehow his complexion seemed gray. He seemed familiar, but at the same time, not.

His hands were balled into fists. There were tears threatening to spill from his eyes – but he looked more angered than sad.

"Jack what's wrong?!" the other me asked, hopping out of my bed and cupping his face in my hands (and yes, if you're wondering, this is super awkward to watch – and not to mention describe).

He wrenched out of my grip forcefully. "I hate you! How could you do this to me?" he was breathing heavily, and suddenly he dropped to the ground and onto his knees. His face flashed with emotions – all which I had a hard time reading.

"Jack? Jack!?" the other me asked. I myself was tempted to try and reach out and try and comfort him. But I was also glued to the ground. Something inside of me felt like it was barfing. What was wrong with Jack?

"Nico was wrong!" he gasped suddenly. His voice no longer held any anger, but he was pleading. "Don't listen to him!"

Then he turned to me (the me that's narrating) and I noticed that his eyes seemed a bit darker. I couldn't place why though. "Nico was wrong about everything!"

"What? How do you know?" the other me asked, not seeming to notice… me.

"Baby Tooth," Jack gasped out, "She's been scouting out the forest. The dragon – she's found it! We have to-"

He passed out on the floor.

* * *

I woke up just as quickly as I fell asleep.

My throat ached, as if I had just been screaming. It was dark outside, with no light but the tiny sliver of the moon and the stars.

"You were screaming." Came Jack's voice from somewhere in front of me. I would have freaked out over the fact that he was in my cabin, but I felt too traumatized to do anything about the matter.

He held up his staff and produced a glowing snowflake to illuminate the room. He was sitting at the edge of my bed cross-legged. He looked concerned. "I was scared. You're suddenly having all these weird dreams, and I'm worried-"

"It should be nothing. Maybe it's all the stress building up. It's probably just-" _There you go with all the justs_ , I thought. _If I say another just to reassure him, it'll be probably be another lie._

I sighed. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a demigod, remember?" I offered him a crooked smile. "I can handle myself."

He crawled over to me and brought me into a hug. My heart skipped a beat.

"Pitch can be such a pain," he whispered, quickly pulling away to remove his sweatshirt and hand it to me so I wouldn't freeze if he hugged me again.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I said, pulling him into another hug. Even though he was freezing, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. He nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck, and I may have blushed and started grinning like a madman. My heart was suddenly aching. _Maybe I do like him – maybe I love him,_ I thought. _He'll always have a special place in my heart._

"Six more days till Christmas." He said. "Have you made up your mind?"

"No. Not yet." I lied.

* * *

Nico's POV:

"Jay knows something," I told her. "You guys should come. We may need your expertise in this field."

Thalia Grace nodded from her spot – wherever she was Iris Messaging me from. "I understand, Son of Hades. The Hunters should be there sometime around noon tomorrow."

I sighed once I finished Iris Messaging Thalia. Don't get me wrong, I kind of hate her. This is for Jay.

I crept out of the Hades cabin, stretching before trekking over to the Big House to tell Chiron about the Hunters.

When I got there, Chiron, Will, Austin and Kayla were talking in the infirmary. "Uh, Chiron?" I called hesitantly. Austin and Kayla smiled when they saw me, and started muttering with Will. He blushed and looked at his shoes.

"Hello, Nico." One look at the urgent look in my eyes, and he nodded. "You have something important to tell me?"

I coughed awkwardly. "Uh… the Hunters of Artemis are coming."

* * *

 **Will: Dang it! Nico saw! When I get back I will kill Austin and Kay-**

 **Me: *stamps on Will's foot to get him to be quiet***

 **Will: Ow! What was that for?**

 **Me: SO you'd be quiet, and so I could say this: I was walking on sunshine.**

 **Will: Oh I WILL-**

 **Me: See you next chapter! *runs away from insane Son of Apollo***


	25. Schist is Going Down! Kind Of!

**HIIIIIIIII It's Willowleaf the Jedi! New chapter (duh!)!**

 **I won't rant or whatever. Because schist will be going down in this chapter! Please be ready to complain about my terrible writing :3**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

The next day, I wasn't sure I'd be able to give Nico many answers. Thank the gods I didn't have to. I had fallen asleep with Jack, which I decided would stay between us. I didn't need Nico to kill him, not until Christmas at least.

When I stepped out of my cabin followed by Jack, I could sense something wasn't right – or at least, something important was happening. "What's happening?" asked Jack. I shrugged.

"I'm not so sure." I replied. "But I'm up for food. Wanna come?"

Jack nodded. "Maybe I can try flirting with that nymph again."

I shoved him. "Juniper is dating Grover, Frosty!"

Jack smirked. "You're just jealous."

"I'll throw you into the sacrificial brazier if that means you'll shut up. Now, to the dining pavilion!" I commanded.

Jack sighed. My threats had totally won that argument. "I want pizza."

When the two of us reached the dining pavilion, we could tell something wasn't right, or at least something was going on. One of the Aphrodite kids, a girl who was named Lacy, was fixing the rat's nest that belonged to Will's half-brother, Mason. Cynthia from the Nike cabin was talking loudly with another camper, arguing that she was able to beat a 'Hunter' in archery. In fact, the more I tuned into conversations around the pavilion, I realized they were talking about these _Hunters_.

"Who are the Hunters?" I asked Nico, sliding into a bench opposite from his.

Nico looked grimly at his smiley-face pancakes – an ironic meal for a Son of Hades. "The Hunters of Artemis. They're coming today."

A nymph passed by as Jack took a seat beside me. She handed us both smiley-face pancake drowning in syrup. I glanced at Nico, waiting for an explanation as to why this was the only food we had.

"Travis and Connor Stoll," Nico informed. "They took all the food and left us with this." I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you so disappointed about the Hunters of Artemis coming?" I asked Nico. The Italian visibly stiffened. He grabbed a fork and stabbed at the eyes of his pancake. Then he stayed silent for few moments.

"Bianca used to be a Hunter. She died as one." He said quietly. "And Thalia Grace, the lieutenant of Artemis, well, she and I have a rocky relationship." He was silent – completely silent – after that. If it wasn't for Jack inhaling his pancakes, the table would have been extremely quiet.

"Uh… sorry I asked."

"It's OK. You didn't know. Now go and sacrifice a bit of your meal before you forget – again." He tried to sound humorous and upbeat, but his voice still seemed hollow. I didn't quite understand how he felt. Sure, my mom had died, but that was so long ago I didn't remember anything. I found that I related more at the thought of losing my first good friends – Nyssa, Dawn, Gabby, Dan and Jason.

I stood up and walked over to one of the flaming braziers.

 _Um_ , I began in my mind, _This is for all of you guys. Don't worry, I'm on your side… Uh, hi._ I could already imagine them snorting at my inability to say something proper to them. I quickly scraped away a bit of my food and walked back over to the Hades table, where Jack and Nico were waiting.

"Any dreams?" Nico asked me casually. It was as if our awkward conversation earlier had never happened.

I glanced at him, and then at Jack. Both looked at me expectantly. "Nope," I lied, crossing my arms. "I'm not an Oracle, you know."

Nico stiffened again. "Right. Sorry." He twisted his skull ring around, and I remembered him telling me that Reyna Ramirez-Arellano of Camp Jupiter had the same habit. I found it kind of odd that a girl like Reyna would befriend Nico, but there friendship had lasted for over a year now. And that must have been hard – long distance relationships never really work out.

I glanced around the open-air pavilion. Everyone seemed to be sitting down – having already scraped away a portion of their meal to the gods. Suddenly, I heard the Apollo kids get louder. Will was at the head of the table, at the centre of attention. His fellow siblings were all looking at him funny, some of them wolf-whistling and making kissy-noises, some just rolling their eyes. Then he stood up, and started walking in the direction of the Hades table.

"You go get him!" cried Leo in the direction of Will, only to be elbowed by Calypso. Many of the campers giggled or wolf-whistled.

Now, let me explain. Campers are only supposed to sit at their table – at the table of their godly parent (I'm an exception since there is not a Helios table). Sitting at another table was against the rules. The last person to do that, if I'm up to speed with camp gossip, was Annabeth to sit with Percy.

Will ignored all the campers, but Nico looked like he was trying very hard not to stab at his pancakes again. His face was bright red with embarrassment. Clearly, something had happened, and I hadn't quite noticed.

The blond Son of Apollo slid onto the stone bench next to Nico, handing him another smiley-face pancake. "Morning!"

Nico looked like he was about to die. "You have the nerve to sit with us after… the incident? And you brought pancakes?! You're insufferable!"

Will rolled his eyes, and I couldn't help but feel that I was intruding on a personal conversation. "You need to eat." Was all he said.

"What's this incident you're talking about?" I asked.

Nico turned bright red again, so I turned to Will for an explanation. Said boy was still smiling, but kind of nervously. "Well, yesterday, we went to the beach. And we were playing and stuff, and then I kind of accidentally pushed Nico into the freezing water. And I was kind of scared he'd get hypothermia, so I took him to the infirmary."

Nico buried his head in his hands. "He wouldn't let any of the other Apollo campers tend to me."

Will huffed indignantly, but he didn't have a comeback. He just continued the story. "Well, anyways, it turned out Neeks was perfectly fine. So I go to tend to a bunch of other campers-"

"Of course, after confining me to that room in the infirmary," Nico added.

"And then I come back a few hours later. And I'm tired, and Nico's sleeping."

"Then, he hops into the bed and falls asleep with him," butted in Kayla, who happened to be walking by. She winked at me. "Travis and Connor snuck in and saw, well, that, and since then-"

Will held a hand up. "I think she gets it." He was quite red in the face too, which I found amusing.

When Kayla left, leaving me with the boys, Jack and I burst into laughter. "You guys…" I tried to breathe. "You're too cute together."

Jack accidentally knocked over a glass of milk in his laughter.

Nico scowled at the spill. "Since when has Jack been here?"

I tried to get myself together. "He's been here the whole time."

Will shook his head. "I really hate those Stoll brothers right now." He looked at us. "Well, I've got to do cabin inspection today with…" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Neeks-"

"Yeah, OK. Let's go," Nico said, pushing his pancakes away as he stood up. "Later, Jay. And Jack."

Jack and I waved at them as they strolled off, bickering like siblings. I sighed. "Sometimes, those two can be painstakingly oblivious."

Jack rolled his eyes in agreement as he tried cleaning up his spill. "It's funny. But sometimes makes you want them to just kiss already."

Jack's POV:

 _It makes me think of how I feel about us_ , I wanted to tell her. But that seemed so cheesy, and she'd probably just punch me in the face, so I didn't say anything.

She looked like she was about to say something, but decided against it. "Uh, wanna come watch me fail in the forge?" she invited. _This is a good start_ , I thought. _We're over the I-hate-you-because-you're-alive stage. Kind of._

I was about to answer (with a yes, like I usually do), but then I remembered Baby Tooth. Don't tell Jay, but she talks a bit in her sleep. She mentioned Baby Tooth in the midst of incoherent mumbling, and it struck me with the power of Nico di Angelo's Stygian Iron sword. Between hanging with Jay, and, well, doing just about everything with Jay, I kind of forgot about Baby Tooth.

Don't blame me. Jay is distractingly pretty. But that's kind of irrelevant.

"I – well, I kind of can't." I mumbled. "I have to… do something."

Jay froze mid-bite. "What are you doing?"

I quickly told her about Baby Tooth (excluding the part about her talking in her sleep). She nodded. "That's nice of you. Uh, what about campfire?"

I blinked and said something really intelligent like, "Uh, huh?"

Jay rolled her eyes. "Join Will, Nico, Leo, Calypso and I at campfire. Sure, it's fire. But it's a lot of fun. We usually hang at the edge of the crowd anyways, and-"

I held a hand up for her to stop rambling. "No. I mean, why are you suddenly inviting me?"

Jay crossed her eyes and put her fork down. "I wanna spend _time_ with you, before, well… Pitch."

Her sympathy was really sweet. For once, she didn't look all huffy about it, but she looked quite serious. As if she knew something was going to happen. The thought didn't settle well with me, but I took this as an opportunity to get her to like me.

"… of course I'll come."

Jay smiled, but I could still sense something was wrong. "Thanks Jack."

"Uh, any time." I reassured, scratching my head awkwardly.

Jay stood up suddenly. "Schist. Cabin inspections. How did I not realize those two said CABIN INSPECTION?" she shivered. "I have to go." She shivered some more, and sneezed.

I stood up to, feeling concerned. "Do you have a cold?"

Jay regained some of her personality and crossed her arms. "I do not!" then she sneezed violently again.

I shook my head at her. "Silly mortal," I teased, removing my blue sweatshirt and handing it to her again. "This should keep you warm. Jay, was it really smart to wear that stupid t-shirt in the winter time?"

Jay rolled her eyes but put on the sweatshirt. "You're turning into Will. Seriously, sometimes he has, like, zero chill." She smiled a bit. "Thanks for the sweatshirt."

I blinked. "You're smiling."

She scowled. "Am not. Now, gotta go. See ya!"

And with that, she turned heel, and started muttering curses and complaining about how Will was such a neat freak.

I stared at the now empty Hades table. Now that it was empty, it seemed quite depressing. It lived up to its owner – Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, and probably the most goth-like camper.

And, if you're asking, Jay did tell me about him and Will being into guys. I don't really know how I'm supposed to comment on that. Sure, it might seem a little gross at first. But us Guardians are supposed to accept all children, and protect all. Boys who liked boys liked Will and Nico were no different. When you've lived on Earth for over 300 hundred years, boys liking boys seemed pretty normal. Enough said.

I quickly got up and flew off, intent on finding my beloved Baby Tooth.

* * *

After searching the whole camp, it was pretty much a given that the little fairy was probably in the forest. That unnerved me. Ever since the Lily incident, and my little date with Jay, I learned not to trust forests. They tended to give you a lot of black sand.

Sadly, this forest seemed willing to give me more than black sand.

"This is for Baby Tooth," I announced to the nearest tree. "Just saying. So Pitch, or dragon thing, or any other ominous forest dwelling monsters, don't eat me. I'd like to come out alive."

But I already had a bad feeling about this. Yes, I should have had a bad feeling from the start because pleading for mercy from trees is pretty damn stupid.

"I'll just go before I regret anything," I said. I remembered something Jay always used to say before playing capture-the-flag, or going against Nico in a sword fight: _YOLO._

I wasn't exactly sure what it meant, but I figured out that it was an acronym. I guessed that it meant something along the lines of 'yellow oranges live (insert word for O),' and was used to motivate people. Why yellow oranges would motivate though, I wasn't really sure. But it worked with Jay. Why wouldn't it work with me?

"YOLO!" I yelled, and charged (flew?) into the woods.

After about ten minutes of flying, something didn't seem right. Something in my throat burned. I smelled smoke. I felt tired. Suddenly, I realized what was happening.

Fire. The forest was slowly burning.

Then I heard the screaming. "HELP!" HELP!"

I charged forwards.

The smoke was very visible now. Flames licked at the trees a few feet away. Nymphs came along, trying to stop the flames from burning away their life sources, but nothing seemed to work. "Jokul Frosti! Help!" some called.

"I'm not Jokul Frosti, I'm Jack Frost!" I cried. Why Greek nymphs would call me by my Norse name was kind of odd, but priorities.

Jay had told me about Percy Jackson and how he could summon waves and torrents of water. The demigod was currently in New Rome, so I was the runner-up for best chance at defeating the fire. If I'd have any sense, I'd probably hesitate to help the nymphs. I haven't really ever been in such close contact with fire with my ice powers, and I didn't know if I was immune.

But nonetheless, I grabbed my staff and jumped into the fray.

* * *

Jay's POV:

"Jay, you're not holding the hammer properly."

"I know, Jake."

"That metal's already melting!"

"I know that Jake!"

Jake Mason was really getting on my nerves. The child of Hephaestus was filling in for Leo Valdez, who was who knows where. Probably in the Bunker with Calypso.

By the end of that session, I was feeling really impatient. I was used to one of the boys by my side. But they all seemed busy. Will was now in the infirmary, Nico was teaching sword-fighting, and Jack was romping off in the woods for his beloved fairy friend.

When my session in the forge was over, I had never felt so relieved. Helios was my father, sure, but now I can't stand summer heat. I blame Jack, but there's not much I can do about it. The forge made me ready to jump into Jack's arms. How could Leo manage it?

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the time. Lunch would be in ten minutes. Hallelujah.

Sadly, the Fates of lunchtime had other plans.

The conch horn blew earlier than expected, but that wasn't for lunch. I glanced at my fellow campers, who were just as confused as I was. "Wha- Huh?" Clovis spluttered, emerging from the Hypnos cabin.

Clarisse La Rue looked up from sharpening her knife collection. "Do I smell smoke?"

Sure enough, I smelled smoke too. And the smell seemed to get stronger. I glanced back at the forge, but all the fires had been but out, leaving clouds of smoke. Nothing was seriously burning in the camp.

A couple of satyrs emerged from the woods. "Fire! FIRE!" they shouted. The camp went into panic. Clarisse dropped her knives (which didn't seem like the best idea) and sprinted off to carry the news.

"Where's Percy when we need him?" I heard many campers complain. Everyone was crowding around the satyrs and the woods, as if trying to get a whiff of the dangerous fumes. Then the screams went off.

Chiron cantered into the clearing in full centaur-mode. A bow and quiver were strung on his back. "Campers! The flames must be doused at all costs! Fan out!"

The crowd of campers dispersed hurriedly, leaving me with Will's younger sister, Kayla. "Have you seen Will? We need to get the infirmary ready."

I blinked and searched the crowd. Will was not here. Nico wasn't either. Jack… Jack was probably in those woods right now.

My stomach turned to mush. "He's… I'm not sure."

"Right here! Jay! Kayla!"

The two of us turned. Will and Nico were sprinting towards us. "What's happening?" Nico asked, scanning the panicked faces of campers as they scurried around holding buckets of water. One boy, a son of Nike along with a few others was manning a huge water hose.

I cringed. "A fire started in the woods. We're not sure what's going on." I tried sending them a look that hopefully had PITCH all over it.

The boys got my signal. Will turned to his sister. "You and Austin go prepare the infirmary. I need to do something."

Kayla saluted and sprinted towards the Big House, grabbing a scared looking Austin as he ambled in front of her.

Will smiled at her, but his smile faded as he turned to face me. "Let me guess, Jack is-"

"Jack's there!" I said. "And Pitch was probably the one who set the fire."

Nico cursed like a Phoenician sailor. Clearly, he had underestimated our enemy. Pitch seemed like a formidable opponent. "He's gonna try and burn the camp. And of course, like the cliché villain he is, he started with the woods."

He didn't exactly explain, but we all knew why he started with the woods. The magical boundary opened up there. If he was to just clear away a couple acres of trees, getting into camp with an army of whatever certainly wouldn't be a problem.

He looked at the two of us. "OK. Here's the plan."

* * *

Jack's POV:

"Yah!" I yelled, trying to fight the heat that slapped me in the face. Clearly, trying to freeze flames wasn't smart. My stomach churned as nymph after nymph fell to the ground as their life source crumbled to ash. This was too much suffering. I remembered Jay telling me that they'd be reincarnated as another plant, but it was still very sickening. It only reminded me of Baby Tooth – and how she wouldn't be able to reincarnate if she died.

I grabbed my staff and shot some ice at the nearest flame, but my powers were dwindling, and these flames weren't dying down. I felt actual heat – something I wasn't supposed to feel. I was sweating.

A flash flame raced up my sleeve. I screamed, desperately trying to beat the flames crawling up my skin. My throat was burning worse than before. A few strands of my hair were smouldering. I quickly put out that heat before I'd be a walking, charred bush.

The nymph closest to me fell down, and didn't get up. I was scared. Where was a sea god when you needed him? Even Percy Jackson would have been nice.

The screams of the nymphs were getting deafening. I couldn't see any of the lush forest that had stood here minutes ago. Everything was a blur of red, yellow, and orange. I could only imagine how the nymphs felt – the terrible sensation of slowly being burnt to ashes. I nearly collapsed with trauma.

Nymph after nymph fell. I did my best to build barriers of ice around the ones closest to me, but their lives were connected to the trees, and those were already burning as much as Jay's face when she got really embarrassed. I released a frustrated yell.

"Go, Jack Frost," one nymph had managed to rasp out. Her dress was in flames. Her face contorted in pain. I made to help her, but she held a hand for me not to move. "Find the stream a few miles away. That should…" she fell to the ground. Her body dissolved into ash.

I snapped. Nothing should have perished like these nymphs were! I yelled, and an unfamiliar tug in my gut came to be. I raised my staff. I thought of my sister, of Jay, of Baby Tooth, and of everyone else I had ever loved. I thought of the nymphs, who were unwillingly dying because of my problems (yeah. It was pretty damn obvious that this was Pitch's doings).

My rage exploded.

* * *

Jay's POV:

Turns out, Nico's plan was for him and Will to run off to the beach and find the giggly water girls (Naiads? Dryads? I always forget). They were so oblivious to everything, that, of course, they hadn't noticed the fire burning in the woods.

That left me to assist the manning of the giant water hose.

Sad? Very.

But, it turned out we didn't even need the damn thing.

Right as that son of Nike yelled, "FOR THE GODS!" the ashen sky turned a silvery-blue.

I was knocked off my feet by a gust of wind and tumbled down a hill.

* * *

I woke up a few moments later. It was snowing. Camp was already, somehow, a few inches deep in the stuff. Jack's sweatshirt was soaked. In fact, I was soaked all over. I didn't exactly know why. Then I realized that the ground around me was soaked with melted snow. The grass was sizzling and steaming in a perfect circle around me.

Before I could marvel at whatever that was, Kayla and Will found me. "Jay! Thank the gods!" Will said, but his voice was tight as the siblings walked over to me. "You may wanna see this…" he offered me a hand and pulled me off.

I reeled shakily to the left and tripped face-first up the hill.

"Whoa!" Will and Kayla exclaimed in unison, jogging towards me. I felt Will's warm arms wrap around me.

And I, as charmingly as possible, passed out again.

* * *

"-and Jay just tripped. And then the snow around her melted." Will's voice echoed around my pounding skull. He seemed to be explaining something to someone.

"Maybe Helios has granted her powers," came Chiron's voice.

"Shh. She's awake," Nico murmured.

The familiar infirmary room went silent and I opened my eyes a bit. Will and Nico rushed over to my side. Will put a hand to my forehead, tossed me a piece of ambrosia, and grabbed me into a hug.

"You were out for three hours," he whispered. _Three hours? But how could I have slept for three hours?_

"The fire," I began, squirming out of Will's grip and turning to face Chiron. "Why – what even happened?"

"Will and Nico will explain, Daughter of Helios," he murmured. "You might wanna see Leo first... He's in the room next door… with Calypso." Chiron's face was expressionless, but he had that look in his eyes as if he knew something bad was going to happen. As if he had seen too much suffering similar to this…

I could immediately tell something was wrong. "Is Calypso…?"

"Calypso suffered a few burns from the fire. Leo had managed to drag her out of the Bunker in time, but…" Chiron trailed off nervously. I could sense why he was nervous. We all knew how much Leo loved Calypso. If she died because of the fire…

I stood up shakily. "I'll go check on Repair Boy."

I limped away. Calypso was a few beds down from me. She and I seemed to have been the only campers who had suffered – her being the more important one, of course. All the other beds were occupied by burnt nymphs. Some burned away before my very eyes, and I choked on a sob.

Leo saw me coming, but made no move to greet me. He just looked at his beloved girlfriend.

I walked over to him and brought him into a hug. "Leo, I- I…" I couldn't find words. The Latino's eyes were strung with tears. Calypso herself was lying in the bed with her eyes closed. Her arms were reddened. Skin peeled, leaving her once flawless skin, well, flawed. Her face was serene, but for some reason I could tell that scared me – and Leo – more than it should have.

I wanted to cry out in anguish.

I don't exactly know what moved me to cry. Sure, I barely knew those two. But hardships always seem to bring people together. Leo had already lost too much to fire. His mother, his own life… If he was to lose Calypso, I would join him and Nico on an expedition to retrieve her from the Underworld in a heartbeat.

"Jay… would you mind if, you just… left us…." Leo trailed off and buried his head in his hands. He sobbed freely.

I nodded and walked back to Will and Nico just as Chiron cantered off to talk with a satyr. "Pitch is going to pay," I whispered fiercely. Never in my life had I seen so much suffering. It only reminded me of Jack…. Oh gods, Jack! What if he was still in the woods, suffering casualties like Calypso?

"Is the fire completely put out?" I asked. I couldn't bear to imagine my fellow campers still out there as I rested in the infirmary like a god.

"Yeah. Half of the woods have just burnt down. Chiron's cancelling Capture the Flag tonight." Nico said. "The Hunters of Artemis are here and foraging the woods for any nymphs who are…. You know." The Son of Hades looked quite pained.

I was surprised – and scared – with Nico's report. Half the woods had burned? That must have been a tremendous amount of acres to cover.

Will squeezed his shoulder, but I could tell he was quite shaken. "You think Jack is out there?"

I wiped my watery eyes with the sleeve of Jack's sweater. It seemed ironic that I still had his sweatshirt now of all times.

"Yeah. He went off to look for one of his friends in the woods this morning, and I haven't seen him since." I tried to keep my voice steady, but I felt sick. On the inside I felt like I was burning. I started to sweat. What was wrong with me?

"Jay, are you gonna…. Look for him?" asked Will.

"Yeah." I said without hesitation. "Now that you mention it, I think I'll go now."

"Wait!" Nico said, holding a hand out as if to stop me. "What happened to you? Kayla and Will said they found you in a pile of melted snow. Everywhere else, except for around you, the snow was latched onto the ground. It's still snowing, actually!"

My stomach churned with sudden burst of hope. Snow meant… "Jack must have tried putting out the fire with his snow!" That meant… "He might be OK!"

Will and Nico exchanged uneasy glances. "Have you ever seen him overexert his powers?"

"… Huh?" Honestly, where does Nico find all these explanations and stories? This kid is younger than me, but smarter. And don't even get me started about Will.

"During the war with Gaea, I found Nico, half-dead," Will explained. "He had used up his Hades powers way too much, and, well, even our powers have limits."

"But Jack is an immortal spirit. How could he ever overexert his powers?" I asked. I surprised myself with my confidence for the boy, but I truly did believe in his powers. Snow magic was some serious stuff. And Elsa never seemed to overexert her powers, did she? Well, it was a Disney movie…

Nico shook his head, crushing my hope. "The fire was put out in what seemed like an explosion – and then it started snowing."

"That was definitely Jack," Will confirmed. "There are no snow spirits, and there are no children of Khione in this camp. Jack must have been helping with the fire and-"

I tried shutting the blond boy out. I was getting better at that. "I'm going to find him. Now." I said, gritting my teeth and stumbling out of the infirmary and grabbing a square of ambrosia for Jack.

"Wait, Jay-"

At this point, I was tempted to smack Nico upside the head. Clearly, I didn't have too. I don't know what made me snap.

The temperature around me was raised about a billion degrees. Smoke curled off of my skin. Will and Nico looked at me with a mix of amazement of fear. "I'm gonna find him!" I yelled, this time with true confidence. I turned to go off again, but I staggered. _I'm the one overexerting myself…_

Nico and Will looked stunned. I cleared my head and hurried off.

* * *

Nico's POV:

Something was DEFINITELY wrong.

First of all, since when did Jay Swift care so much about someone like… like Jack Frost? Like, seriously, what?

And second of all, why did her powers just happen to come along – now of all times? If I find Helios I will personally kick him in the groin. Jay probably had the worst kind of powers, especially since she was so close to someone like Jack. And what if she wasn't fire-proof like Leo Valdez? She could accidentally vaporize herself.

And, I mean, come on! Her father is (was) the titan of the sun, and all he gave her was an internal smoke machine and thermostat that went off when she got mad?

That seemed unfair. He'd be better off giving her a sun-catcher. Or a playlist to put on her phone of songs like, "You are my Sunshine,", "Here comes the Sun," and the likes.

Will sighed. "Next thing you know, she's gonna be living her own take on our 'Three Days in the Infirmary' story."

I supressed the urge to laugh out loud. "Should we go after her?"

Will blinked a couple times. "I don't think so – the Hunters are in the woods too. Jay's in good hands."

"Have you even met the Hunters?" I said, ready to start a rant. Sadly, Will had heard that rant one too many times.

"She's a girl. She's not you. They're not going to skewer her. And I doubt she'd join them. I mean, if Jack was visible, everyone would be shipping the two." Will said reassuringly. His tone was light, but I could still tell he was a bit nervous.

I nodded. We could only wait.

* * *

 **Yup. That happened. I'm terrible, yes. Don't blame me. Blame Pitch. My friends and I have this joke, that because North has an accent, when he says Pitch it sounds like the B word, so we say: That son of a Pitch! And fall over laughing like the terrible people we are.**

 **So yeah. I apologize for terrible writing, because action and drama aren't really my thing. I'm working on it, I'm working on it! Practice will just have to make better….**

 **Please review and stuff! And stay tuned for next chappie!**


	26. Just our Luck

**Ok, so this is kind of the aftermath of last chapter. I'm bad at this stuff, don't blame me. This fic will be ending soon, say in another three or four chapters? Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnnn...**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

By the time I found Jack, it was so dark; I nearly stepped on his body.

Uh… let's rewind.

I'd been searching the _damn_ forest for a couple hours. Everything was covered in snow – the trees, the rocks, the ground, it was pretty crazy. I knew Jack had done this, but it only made me nervous, thinking about what Will and Nico had explained to me.

" _Have you ever seen him overexert his powers…?"_

 _"I found Nico half-dead…"_

 _"Even our powers have limits…"_

Even through the warmth of Jack's sweater, my thoughts sent shivers up my spinal cord. I did my best to clear my head. I'd find Jack soon. I was going to have to. I pulled on my brown and blue hair and continued to trudge along.

The fumes and ugly smelling gases had disappeared along with the daylight, but for some reason I was glowing just enough so I could see in front of me.

Great. Another super-power from Helios. I was a human torch. What next – can I burn someone if they touch me?

Uh, yeah. I just said that. I'll admit, I was mad at Will and Nico. I was sick and tired of them trying to protect me – especially Nico. And yes, I was jealous of the boys and their cool powers. But it seemed kind of stupid that I was so mad smoke was curling up my arms (and not to mention singing off my arm hairs) and I was a miniature sun.

Pfft. So much for jealousy. Now I understand why Elsa always seemed to think of her ice powers as a curse… and those stories Leo Valdez would always tell me about how he hated his fire powers.

The thought of the Son of Hephaestus made my head hurt. How was Calypso faring, how was he faring?

I hadn't come across any of the Hunters of Artemis, but I had a feeling they were watching my every move. One time I heard a leaf rustle. Then I saw a flash of silver.

Because of Nico's stories, I wasn't exactly sure if I could trust them. But if what Will argued with, they'd take pity on me because I was a girl. Despite the fact that their reasoning was _very_ sexist, it may be my only hope. Apparently, they were amazing with bows and could shoot me down.

I was also starving. Skipping lunch and dinner? Camp Half-Blood had pampered me a bit too much with their olive pizzas. My stomach growled, which was probably what got the Hunters to notice me.

My sudden hunger reminded me of my friend Jason, how one day in middle school, he ate a bunch of Lays chips for lunch. When Nyssa questioned if he had anything healthy to eat, he pulled out a bunch of Oreos. Of course, Dawn and I ate them, but we were all laughing about how unhealthy Jason was to the point where the teacher told us all to shut-up.

Then – ah. I'm getting off topic. But you can't blame me. This is how I usually how I deal with grief, by thinking of the good old days.

I tramped along, calling Jack's name every fifty or so steps. I tried asking the tree nymphs if they had seen a mysterious boy with albino white hair possibly half dead wandering around. None of them seemed so helpful, telling me to go away because they were mourning for their sisters. I couldn't blame them, but that left me to my own devices to find my beloved Jack.

I continued along in silence.

A couple of steps after my last nymph encounter, an owl hooted somewhere close behind me. I may have yelped a bit too loud, and suddenly it got really cold. I sneezed and shivered, despite Jack's warm sweatshirt. _Great,_ I thought. _That damn owl scared the warmth right out of me – was my internal heater on auto-pilot?_

And more importantly, why was Camp Half Blood's weather shield not working?

I turned around to look at the owl. It was brown and gray and very big, with feather tufts sticking up on its head like horns, so I could only assume it was one of those majestic Great Horned Owls. Its eyes were big and grey, ringed with feathery discs of the same colour.

(It reminded me of how Dan had once seen an owl staying still for a very long time. He called us over, and we all watched the owl for about two terrible hours, waiting for it to move. When his mom told us that the owl was actually a fake, Gabby and I got so mad we tackled Dan to the ground.)

I was about to mutter a few curse-words, when I realized that the owl was the sacred animal of Athena. Maybe if I sent up a small prayer…?

I shivered. "Uh, Lady Athena? If you could be so… _merciful_ to just help me find a way to find Jack that would be really great…"

The owl blinked at me a couple times. Then it hooted and flew off towards the right.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do. Should I follow the damn owl or not? It would have been nice if Athena maybe gave my phone a bit of Wi-Fi and a Jack Frost tracker. Instead, she gave me an owl. Maybe they were all laughing at me on Olympus. _Ha! Nice one Athena! You got the girl to follow an owl!_

"Well," I decided, "There's a first time for everything, even following owls. Hey owl! Wait up!" I ran after it and into the dark forest. Thank the gods I was still glowing. _Uh,_ I thought. _I guess I have two gods to thank at breakfast._

Fortunately for me, the owl was kind. He or she would fly ahead of me, hooting so I knew where it was. It'd always be somewhere in my vision. At some point in our hour long trek, it even stopped and landed on my shoulder.

Let me tell you this: I am not an animal person. I'm allergic to cats. The last time I played with Nyssa's pet hamster, Mocco, he tried running away. When Gabby and Dan dared me to touch a lorikeet at the petting zoo, it bit me so hard my hand began to bleed like there was no tomorrow. But this owl was surprisingly nice, as if it realized animals had been cruel enough to me.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, because the darkness and the silence combined were really killing me.

"Hoot." It said.

"I'll take that as a NO." I said. The owl nuzzled his beak into my hair. "Can I name you?"

"Hoot."

I tripped on a tree root and nearly fell. The owl hooted again, and his claws dug into my shoulder. I yelped.

"Hoot." I could only hope that was an apology, or some reassurance, or _something_.

After I picked up my pace (and feeling came back into my shoulder), I came up with a name. "Oothay."

"Hoot?" it asked me.

"It's the word 'Hoot' in Pig Latin." I explained. "Can I call you Oothay?" Why that was the first name I came up with, and why I actually liked it, was kind of unknown to me.

The gray and brown owl paused for a second, as if it was making up its mind. "Hoot." It said, in what kind of sounded like a deciding tone.

"OK! So, Oothay, are you a girl?" I asked next, because that just seemed like a reasonable question. Oothay chirped and knocked his beak against my hair with just enough force for it to hurt.

"Ow! I'll take that as a no-"

A loud scream ripped through the air, making both Oothay and I flinch. "What was that?!" I asked him. The owl spread his beautiful wings (nothing like getting a mouthful of feathers to substitute dinner) and took off, hooting frantically.

"OOTHAY! WAIT UP! IS THAT JACK?!" I yelled, carefully sprinting by the trees. My stomach churned with worry. If that was Jack, what was happening to him?

After the next silence-ripping scream, the forest went silent. I couldn't even hear Oothay hooting. My fear must have messed with my head big time, because the glow surrounding me slowly faded away. The forest was now pitch-black. I may have screamed back in all my panic.

"Oothay? Jack?" I called out again. Deep silence was what answered me. I had never felt so terrified – too much adrenaline was pumping through me. My heart hammered in my chest. Despite me losing my warmth, I was feeling cold.

I stood, rooted to the spot, hoping that my eyes would adjust to the darkness. I must have stood there for minutes on end – and nothing really happened. I was left to my own devices – or at least my mortal useless devices.

I tried to think back to the days when I was like this – waiting for a chance or opportunity for anything that could turn the tables, without any powers or knowledge of this stuff. When I was homeless, hiding with scary, old Italian ladies who listened to Simon and Garfunkel. When I was so desperate to find a movie theater, sneak in, and watch Frozen. When I longed for a friend – my own, long lost friends.

Now, the stakes were higher. A creepy nightmare dude was haunting me and my friends, and an annoying winter spirit's fate was connected to mine. Oh, the horror!

"Ok, Jay. You've just gotta get your light running, and then find Jack and Oothay. Then bring them back to Camp, and we're all good." I took in a deep breath, something Will would usually tell me to do. I shook my arms and legs, something Jack and Nico liked to do. Thinking of them (Jack in particular) made my heart beat faster. I was gonna have to figure this out. For once, I'd be Jack's knight in shining armour.

An image of Jack locked up in a tower in a fancy princess dress made the tension in my stomach ease. It was funny enough for me to smile. _Of course. Even if he isn't here, he still cheers you up. Girl, what's up with your head?_

Then I heard something: a kind of squeaking sound.

"Jack?" I called, because I was irrationally stupid like that.

That squeaking sound came along again, accompanied by what I assumed was the buzz of wings. Then, it clicked. "Baby Tooth?"

A little bit of hope surged through me. Something soft and feathery brushed my hand. It startled me, but in a good way. At least I had Baby Tooth.

"You're going to help me find Jack. If we could just get some light…" I murmured. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate. It was surprisingly easy. After a whole minute, I opened my eyes again. I could see the dim outline of Baby Tooth. Her eyes sparkled with relief.

"Gods," I murmured, praying to all the gods my light would stay on. Seeing Baby Tooth, even though I didn't know her that well, was very relieving. She was very important to Jack… And I suppose that meant she could be important to me too.

I forced myself to take in a deep breath. "Have you found him yet?"

Baby Tooth nodded, grabbing my fingers and trying to fly off. In the dim light, I noticed that a few of her feathers were a bit burnt. It made me think of Jack, and how he might be doing, and my stomach twisted with despair.

I let her drag me through the forest, trying not to get my face to burn. _Nice job, Jay. You seem to be the only living thing in the forest who doesn't know where Jack is._

Gah.

* * *

Speed things up to about five minutes later, and there was Jack. Lying down, unconscious, face-first in a pile of mud. He was clutching his staff in his left hand. Gods of Olympus, the two of us probably have the worst luck. Why must falling face-first be a thing? I lost a freaking _tooth_ because of that.

"Jack!" I yelled, walking (if I ran I'd slip) towards him. I crouched over him. "Jack?" He didn't respond. I hauled him up as best as I could and dragged him out of the mud. Then I gasped. His shirt was torn to shreds. His once pale face looked like it had been sunburnt – the skin either red or peeling. I could only imagine how bad it felt. _At least his face didn't burn off,_ I tried reassuring myself. _His usually cold self must have helped him. He's lucky compared to everyone else in the woods._

I propped him up against a tree. "Wake up. I've been searching for you for hours! Come on Jack, wake up!"

His head slumped forward. I may have yelped. I was tempted to touch his face, maybe feel his forehead, but I was scared I might do something to hurt him. I'd have to wait for him to wake up.

I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to glow just a little bit more. Nothing happened. Maybe my internal flashlight was on energy saver or something. "Baby Tooth?" I called out.

The little fairy made a buzzing sound somewhere off to my right. _Good. I've found two people. But where's Oothay?_

It would have been nice if he just came swooping in right now. It felt like I had an actual connection with the owl, not in the creepy way.

But no. He didn't come… But I heard a loud ROAR from about a mile away. It sounded familiar (which is weird, I've never met a lion or something) as it echoed, bouncing off the trees. Baby Tooth chirped and flew over to me, diving into the pocket of Jack's sweatshirt.

I jumped. Then I quickly scrambled over to Jack. Whatever was roaring was probably a threat. I'd have to wake him up soon, or I'd have to carry him all the way back to camp. "Jack," I whispered, poking his knee, which I assumed was the least burnt. "We have to go."

No response. Another roar sounded, much closer, followed by… a laugh? A deep, rich voice, laughing. For some reason, that felt familiar too. I wanted to go hide in a corner, or at least pray for Nico to come out of the shadows and rescue us. But I somehow managed to pick Jack up and put him on my back (thank the gods he was light), grab his staff, and walk off at the fastest speed I could muster. Which, just saying, wasn't much because I was tired, and I had a Jack Frost on my back.

 _ROAR._ This time, the sound was more deafening, and sadly, I had a hunch what was making that ungodly sound.

The dragon from the book.

* * *

Jack's POV:

Dreams? Yeah, they suck.

Like, seriously. They're the _worst_.

You feel dizzy most of the time, and it's like you're gonna barf if you don't focus. Nothing is exactly clear, everything is just weird, and, well, I could go on and on.

We'll just keep that at 'they suck.'

I dreamed of the forest. I was reliving the traumatic scene I had just witnessed, but from somebody else's point of view. Someone with the eyesight of a tiger (or an animal with good eyesight, I'm not sure which ones have the good eyes and which ones don't) and that was as tall as a tree. Meh.

I tried to speak, or move, or anything really, but nothing worked. It was like I was in hardened super glue – or ice – let's go with ice. It was like I was trapped in ice, frozen in my spot. It sucked.

I couldn't even shield my eyes. "Keep watching," a voice whispered in my ear. It sounded disgustingly familiar, so familiar, that I couldn't place who it was.

My stomach twisted itself into knot after knot as I watched. I saw myself, but I saw everything around me. Flames – they were everywhere. Burning everything to shreds and ashes. Nymph after nymph fell to the ground.

I wish I could say I wasn't feeling that much. That I was able to suck it up, bottle up my feelings and face my dreams like a man. But, in truth, I was terrified. I started sweating – which I really hated. _Hey! You haven't been sweating in over 300 years, and sweating isn't supposed to be even possible in dreams. Let's make you sweat! Right now!_

I saw my white hair, the only thing that seemed white in the fray. My stomach twisted some more. I felt like I needed to dye my hair, maybe with dark blue to match Jay. Oh gods, Jay! How had camp been faring while the forest burned? Were they OK? I wanted to scream, maybe to wake up and free myself from my traumatic dreams.

Suddenly, I could blink my eyes.

I exhaled – oh gods, I could exhale now! Maybe I was about to wake up. I shut my eyes and tried steadying my breathing. Jay popped into my head. Her big, chocolate brown eyes blinking indignantly at me. Her tanned complexion was seared into my memory. Her everything – her long, brown and blue locks, her short stature, her huffy way of complaining, _everything_. The thought of her was satisfyingly satisfying.

Then, my eyes were suddenly opened. I tried blinking them a couple times – that usually woke me up. But my eyes were glued open.

"You're not telling a single living soul about this," said a voice.

My vision went dark for about a split-second, and then I was submerged into a new pool of… nightmares.

* * *

Jay's POV:

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" I whispered to myself, forcing myself to stay as calm as possible. My legs burned. Jack was getting awfully heavy. And, there was an _effing_ dragon on our tail.

I wasn't exactly sure where I was going, which scared me. I could be nearing Camp Half-Blood, or I could be farther than Bunker 9. The thought was scary. All of this was scary, _for crying out loud!_

The forest was awfully quiet – save for the dragon's occasional roar. I couldn't hear its feet pounding on the ground, which made me wonder: could it fly? But even if it could, it would crash into trees, right? Maybe it was just swimming on land…

It. The word 'it' really bothered me sometimes. I'm not entirely sure why, it's just the way I am. But when people can't decide on a name for something and call it 'it', it just ticks me off. That's why I decided to name Oothay. Now 'it' was bothering me with the dragon.

Call me stupid. Such are the thoughts of me, a traumatized seventeen year old demigod, running for her life, carrying a winter spirit and his staff, with a scared fairy in her pocket. While other sixteen and seventeen year olds worry about finding soul mates, I'm running from a dragon, with someone I have to assume _is_ my soulmate.

Sorry. Getting off track. Drag. Let's call the dragon Drag.

Maybe if I had just hid until day, or maybe climbed up a tree or something, I would have had a better chance of avoiding the dragon – I mean Drag. But I wasn't thinking straight. I just kept on running.

Roar.

I cringed.

ROAR!

I shrieked and tripped on a tree root. I hit my head on the ground. Jack and his staff flew off to the side – Baby Tooth joining them just in time.

ROAR!

My eardrums rattled and I gasped in pain. I tried to roll over, and onto my back. A coppery taste filled my mouth. I felt my face with my hands. I had a huge gash running along the left side of my face – right from under my eye to somewhere past my lip. When I blinked, I had to suppress the urge to cry out in pain.

That's when I knew: I was going to die.

I lay there, feeling like a total failure. I had found Jack. But I had lost Oothay, I couldn't save him, let alone myself, and I had never even told him that I loved him (yes. Don't be surprised.). My life was just one big disappointment.

ROAR!

When I thought of dying, I went into a panic. I've dreamed of dying lately – something tells me they're premonitions – but never like this. Never bleeding… but poisoned.

ROAR!

Maybe my dreams were wrong. The Fates predicted my fate wrong. I was going to die of pain and dragon.

ROAR!

None of my ribs were broken. I just wasn't in the mood to fight. If I died, I might join Jack as his ghost girlfriend. That would be nice – just the two of us for the rest of eternity. My mind was OK with that. But then there was Will and Nico.

ROAR!

If I died, I'd be leaving Will and Nico forever. I remembered when I got my Demigod Phone, and I was contemplating whether or not to search up one of my other friends on Instagram. Dawn, Gabby, Nyssa, Jason, and Dan would never know I was still alive. They would never know that I had died.

ROAR!

OK. So maybe the negatives outweigh the positives.

ROAR!

The trees rustled. Drag's roars were getting more ear-splitting by the second, and it hurt like Hades. It was Will's terrible taxicab whistle thing to the tenth power – no, _worse_.

Drag must have stopped flying. His footsteps echoed through the woods: _Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._ His footsteps were just a smidge uneven, which kind of bothered me.

I sat up, and suddenly a voice rang out in the woods. It sounded like a banshee. A silver arrow zipped through the trees, inches from my head. Milliseconds later, Drag the dragon groaned, as if he had been punched in the crotch.

Then, he just roared again, angrier.

"Fire!" A feminine voice called. More silver arrows zipped through the trees, following the first one. I could imagine Drag, with his hide impaled with so many arrows he looked like a porcupine.

"Hunters! Advance! The son of Hades tells me to watch out for a girl! Fan out, and find her!"

I heard a few murmurs. These Hunters must be really close by.

"I shall take down this beast," Called the voice again. I could imagine Nico's voice: _That's Thalia, the annoying Lieutenant of Artemis. And Jason Grace's sister._

Well damn Nico for now. This person seemed awesome.

"Hello?" called a timid voice, a few moments later. I couldn't bring myself to respond quite yet. What if they found me and took me away without Jack? I'd do an ultimate rage quit.

I crawled over to Jack, and wrapped my arms round him. I motioned for Baby Tooth to hop into his hair. I took his staff. "I'm over here!" I mumbled. My face hurt, so I pressed it into Jack's hair. It was oddly warm, and he had begun twitching in his sleep. I started to feel worried.

A little girl's head popped up out of nowhere. She was about ten, and glanced at me with big blue owl eyes. Her bright silver hunting jacket glowed in the moonlight – just like the rest of her body. "Ah-ha! I found you! I'll go find Kay-Cee!"

She ran off.

 _Thalia's been recruiting Hunters a lot lately,_ Nico had told her. _I feel like she's doing that to replace Bianca, and I hate it. Don't join them._

I closed my eyes and exhaled. Everything suddenly seemed to come into focus when I opened them again. Jack was snuggled into me, sleeping like the big baby he was. He didn't exactly look peaceful – but he looked better. The burns on his face and arms had disappeared. Maybe it was just his snow powers that did the trick – I wasn't too sure.

He wasn't as cold as he usually was, though. Not that I'm complaining – a few degrees colder and I wouldn't be hugging him right now.

"Kay-Cee! I found her! She's alive!" called that girl's voice.

Moments later, another girl – er, Hunter appeared along with the first one. She looked about my age. She was Filipino (probably), very tall and muscular. Her hair was dyed with the colours of the rainbow, reminding me of Will's sister Kayla.

"Hey," she said casually, as if we were at a party. "Can you stand?"

I nodded, not in the mood to speak. She offered me a hand, which I took (all the while awkwardly balancing Jack so he wouldn't fall). The first young girl didn't seem to notice Jack, which I kind of found disappointing. But I couldn't do much about that.

"My name's Kay-Cee Estrada, by the way." The girl with the rainbow hair said, still acting casual. "This is my sister, Cecelia." She said, pointing to the younger girl.

I cleared my throat and hoisted Jack over my shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes. "Uh, I'm Jay." I suddenly reeled back into the tree. Kay-Cee lunged forward and took my hand.

"Whoa there! C'mon, Cecelia and I will take you back to camp."

"That's Cecce, by the way!" Cecelia – Cecee – argued.

These girls were nice; nothing like Nico had described them. _When they charge into battle, they're incredibly deadly. You want to cower – or at least hope they're on your side. They're gruff – terribly gruff. And annoying. Stubborn. And-_

If I didn't know any better, I'd assume Nico was crushing on one of them.

* * *

Nico's POV:

It's been hours.

Hours.

Waiting and waiting. It's the worst. We skipped camp-fire. All our activities were cancelled for at least half of the week – but no campers were celebrating.

I sat beside Will in the infirmary. Under normal circumstances, I'd probably be fretting about how sweaty and smelly I was, and how Will was pressed up so close to me. But all I could think about was Jay.

Like I said, she's been gone for hours. Five, at least. It was 12: 47 in the morning right now. Chiron had made sure that no campers would go hustling into the woods. There had been no word from the Hunters.

Will was breathing heavily. His eyes drooped. Chiron had made a magic salve for Calypso, which Will had to apply. The healing was going on painfully slow, so Will had to sing one of those healing incantations (which hurt my ears), but still sped up the healing a bit faster.

Calypso had woken up an hour after those events – screaming in pain. Will and Kayla had rushed over frantically. Kayla had handed her squares of ambrosia – but Calypso wouldn't stop screaming until a minute later. Leo had been by her side, crying and holding her hand until she calmed down. It was terrifying.

Now Calypso's burns were practically gone, and she was snoring away in her infirmary bed with Leo. Will and I were seated in another bed three beds away. Will was trying to stay awake, but I let him lean into my shoulder. "This is terrifying," he whispered.

I clenched my fists a couple of times before gently stroking his hair as if he was my new dog. "I know. Jay… should be back by now."

"Have you… Have you sensed her…" Will trailed off with a shudder.

 _Aura of death._ That's what he was going to say. "I…" I stopped stroking his hair and squeezed his hand. "I sensed it… but it's gone."

Will visibly relaxed into me. "I'm guessing Jack always seems dead?"

"Yeah."

I felt like a coward. One itty-bitty fire, and I was a nervous wreck! I wanted to go on and find her – but Chiron would never allow that.

 _"I think I'm gonna find her,"_ I had told Will earlier. He shook his head, eyes filled with fear.

 _"Don't, Nico. If you went, I wouldn't be able to follow because…"_ he trailed off and we looked at Calypso. I cringed. Of course Will had wanted to come with me – Jay was as much his friend as she was mine.

Our conversation had ended at that. I knew this was hard on Will. But all we could do was wait.


	27. So Sorry

**Ok, explanation time.**

 **This isn't a chapter. It's an apology.**

 **No, I'm not going to go all, "my writing is terrible,' like I did last time. I just need to make something clear.**

 **I, Willowleaf the Jedi, would never dream of quitting this story. I'm not. I'm expecting it to be finished sometime soon, actually. BUT, school has been hectic.**

 **Projects. Band practice. Plays. Other things that have nothing to do with school.**

 **Life is busy. So, this story might not be updated anytime soon. Expect it to come back in, like, three or so weeks, if I'm not able to squeeze in a chapter this week. So sit tight, relax. I'll update eventually. Me promise.**


	28. OH MY ZEUS IS THAT SOLANGELO I SEE

**Hi. I'm feeling crappy. I'm terribly sorry about the ridiculous wait. School is finally over. Yay! But I feel like crap. I managed to finally pull through and give you this chapter. Yay?**

 **Warning: Due to author feeling like crap, this chapter might be utter horse crap.**

 **Great, now I can't stop using that word.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

"There's camp! C'mon!" called Cecelia excitedly. Despite the fact that it was so late in the night, camp seemed to be busy. Campers were everywhere, chatting mutedly and walking along quietly.

I limped after Cecelia – Ceece – with Kay-Cee supporting me. Jack seemed to get heavier with every step.

"Your sister doesn't seem scared," I murmured, wanting to keep casual conversation with Kay-Cee.

Kay-Cee chuckled. "She never seems scared. We've been traipsing along with the Hunters for about a year now, and we've already destroyed monsters. A lot of them." Her gaze clouded for a second. "Dragons like these should be a walk in the park."

I nodded, but I felt like a coward. A ten year old girl, defeating monster after monster? What had I accomplished? Nothing compared to her.

I tried not to pout as the sisters led me to the infirmary.

Will and Nico were not waiting on the porch. They were sitting cross-legged in a hospital bed not far from Calypso's. Will, Leo, and Calypso were asleep.

When I stepped into the room, Nico's head snapped up. He looked at me, then at Kay-Cee and Cecelia. Kay-Cee smiled awkwardly and gave him a small salute before walking off and taking Ceece with her.

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. "Gods, Jay. You don't know how scared I've been." Said Italian wriggled away from Will and ran up to me, enveloping me in a bear-hug.

At that moment, everything suddenly seemed to slow down. My fear slowly trickled away. My vision seemed to have cleared, so it was like I was watching a movie in HD.

I exhaled.

When Nico pulled away, he was still smiling. "You hungry? Sleepy? Do you have Jack?"

I didn't answer at first. I walked up to the nearest infirmary bed and gently placed Jack into it. "… Do you have ambrosia?"

Nico nodded. "Be right back. Don't wake anyone."

I walked up to Calypso's bedside, where a not-so-melted icepack was placed beside her. I grabbed it quietly and walked back to Jack. Oh gods… Jack.

He was much better. His small burns were gone. But he looked scared.

Usually, in the books, when one certain character… let's just name him Rico, who in no way is similar to Nico, is sleeping, other characters might try to describe him. Let's name this other character… Bill. Yes. Bill is watching Rico sleep (Gods that sound creepy – but not in the disgusting way! He's not watching in the disgusting way!) . And then he says something along the lines of, _'Rico looked at peace, so calm and angelic that…'_ Uh, let's not go into too much detail.

But I'm just trying to point out, people are supposed to look at peace when they sleep. The same should go for winter spirits, right?

Jack's expression wasn't like that. His eyebrows were furrowed, and every once in a while his mouth would twitch and form an 'O', like he was screaming.

I placed the icepack on his forehead, hoping that that would help replenish his cold.

Nico came back two minutes later with ambrosia wrapped in a napkin, and a set of clothes. "Eat up, change, and rest." He commanded.

I reluctantly left Jack's side and went to freshen up.

"Who were they?" asked Nico. We were sitting in the infirmary, me beside Jack, and Nico beside Will. Both boys were still snoring – Will much louder than Jack was.

"Kay-Cee. And Cecelia. Some Hunters that found me while Thalia was-"

Right at that moment, a girl I could only assume was Thalia Grace barged into the room. For once she was alone, not flocked by her multitude of Hunters.

Nico jumped up. The two eyed each other warily. "What are you doing here?" Nico asked.

Thalia smirked, folding her arms and leaning against the door frame. After a moment, her smile disappeared. "Thought you might want to know that there's a dragon running in the woods."

Nico nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Thalia's eyes widened. "Have you told Chiron?"

Nico blinked, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "…No."

Right as he said that, I noticed Will shifting in his bed and slowly sitting up. "Nico… where's Jay?" he didn't seem to notice Thalia.

Nico rushed over to his side. "She's here, Will. Could you-"

Will stumbled out of the infirmary bed, still wearing his green scrubs, and pulled me into a hug. "You stupid head. No, we're stupid. We should have-"

Thalia cleared her throat.

Will pulled away, noticing her for the first time. "Oh! Uh, Thalia, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Will."

Thalia ignored him. "Would it be so much to ask if I could talk to Nico in private?" she asked me.

"Oh…" I looked at Nico. His look was pleading. "Nico looks tired. He can talk another time."

Nico's face was expressionless, but I could tell he was grateful.

Thalia glanced at the three of us, before nodding relucantly. She turned her gaze to the sleeping forms of Calypso and Leo, smiled slightly, and left the room.

Nico relaxed visibly and yawned. "Thanks, Jay."

"It's been like five or something hours!" yelled Will, looking at me. "You better have that stupid Jack Frost boy with you-"

I held a hand up. "Be quiet Will. Yes, I have him. It's OK." I glanced at Leo and Calypso. Thankfully, they were still sleeping through Will's shouting.

Nico yawned again and hoisted Will up. "Let them sleep. When they wake up, we'll talk."

I smiled in gratitude.

* * *

The next day was pretty weird.

The whole of the camp seemed to try their best to ignore the fact that half of the woods were gone. Which seemed like quite a feat. It was only until lunch time, when Chiron announced that there was going to be a ceremony for all the falling nymphs, when the camp seemed to finally accept and understand the loss.

"I have asked Nico di Angelo to oversee the burial rites," Chiron announced. I glanced at Nico, who was looking at his plate. Then he slowly stood up.

"I'm honoured, Chiron." His voice was tight, but I could see something in his eyes. I couldn't tell if he liked the idea or not.

After lunchtime, I had an hour of free time. Usually I spent that with Will or Nico (duh), but today I went straight for my cabin.

Today was the day after the fire. And Jack still hadn't woken up.

I had to carry him to my cabin this morning, since Will or one of his siblings kept sitting in the infirmary bed he was in. It bothered me to see Austin lying down on him, and it really freaked me out when I saw Kayla's head where his butt was supposed to be. Believe me, it was quite traumatic.

I shivered as I opened the door, closing it quietly. I glanced at my bed. Jack was still there, eyes closed, frowning, fists clenched. If I hadn't known any better, he might have looked like he was trying to poop out a brick.

His staff was leaning against the wall. The room wasn't as cold as it usually was when he was around, but it was definitely colder than this morning.

Will had given me a couple of icepacks for Jack, but they had all melted, leaving the covers wet and making it look like Jack had peed himself. I stifled a laugh, grabbed the icepacks and chucked them into my bathroom sink, then sat on my desk.

I don't remember tears suddenly spilling from my eyes. But suddenly my eyes were wet. Tears fell, and I quickly wiped them up with my sleeve – no, Jack's sleeve. I was still in his sweatshirt. Hopefully he wouldn't mind.

My stomach felt empty, despite the fact that I had just eaten lunch. I had never felt so much despair at this time. Fudge, tomorrow would be Christmas Eve!

But here I was, crying my eyes out into the sweatshirt of a boy that _may_ die again (there's a good metaphor for you), a boy that I liked more than I liked to let on.

My stomach clenched. Why did this have to happen to him? What had he done wrong? Did Pitch really hate him that much? I turned to look at Jack. He twitched, turned over in his sleep, and then didn't move. More tears.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, turning back to my desk and banging my head on it a couple times. I tried thinking of something, anything else really. The first thing I thought of was Dan giving me a pep talk. He did those kinds of things.

 _'Suck it up!' he might yell. 'You're freaking seventeen years old! You're tough! That Pitch bastard can kill you, but does it really matter? Your boyfriend is dead-_

 _'He's not my-'_

 _'Suck it up, and be a man! If you die, you'll just join him. It'll all be fine!'_

 _'Ouch, harsh. But if I die, well, I've done nothing heroic. The Fates might put me in the Fields of Asphodel.'_

 _'Then rip that damn dragon's eyes out before it touches your man! Is that heroic enough for ya?'_

 _'I'm a seventeen year old girl, not Hercules. And he's not my man!' Yet._

 _'Don't you have superpowers?'_

 _'If being a human torch and or stove is a superpower, than sure.'_

 _'Weapons?'_

 _'Shoot. Lost the dagger Neeks gave to me.'_

Then he'd swear and our conversation would circle back to the start.

I shook my head. Dan's pep talks were usually pretty weird. He could go from lecturing Gabby about their next upcoming sports game, to telling Jason a random joke about the Holocaust.

Thinking of that pep talk only reminded me of Kay-Cee and Cecelia. Cecelia was so brave and strong, everything compared to me. I had never felt so useless. I wasn't a powerful demigod. I could barely fight off Will (no offense bro), how was I supposed to help fight the dragon?

I sighed. Thinking about Dan was not helping. I continued to bang my head against the desk. "This." _Bang_. "Is." _Bang_. "For." _Bang_. "Being." _Bang_. "A stupid." _Bang_. "Lovesick." _Bang_. "Softie!" _BANG_! "OW!"

Ok, maybe that last one was a _bit_ overboard. I rubbed my forehead. "I deserved that." I mumbled.

"No you didn't."

I whipped my head around so fast I nearly flew off my chair. "OH MY _GODS_!"

Jack was awake.

He was sitting up, but shaking slightly. I ran towards him and squeezed him into a hug, thinking, 'oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my-'

"Lovesick?" he asked.

I blushed, so I buried my head into his neck so he wouldn't see. "Don't remember saying that," I mumbled.

He laughed, hugging me back. "You're lucky I'm already dead. If I was alive, I'd probably be dead by now because you hug so…" he trailed off, and I heard him gasp. I pulled away.

"Jack?"

He clutched at his head. "AGH!" his eyes were closed, as if he was having a huge brain freeze.

"Jack!" Now I was scared.

"I – I'm fine!" he yelled, still clutching his head. "Just…" he fell back onto the bed.

"Let me get Will!"

"No! Just… let my head stop… hurting…" He passed out.

Moments later, he woke up. Not dramatically, not scarily, just woke up.

Oh… and I may have been crying beside him. Ha ha… talk about embarrassing.

"Hey… are you crying?"

I looked at where he was lying down. Blue eyes alert, calm and collected smile. _Awake_. I scooted away, moving to the foot of the bed and looking away. "No I'm not."

"Don't cry."

Sniff. "I- I'm not."

I heard him sigh and the covers shift about, so that I was wrapped in his icy embrace. "I'm not going to die on you." He says softly.

Who says _I'm_ not? I ask in my head. More tears threaten to fall. I'm such a loser. I made a noise somewhere between a hiccup, a sob, and a laugh. "I know."

He chuckled. "Christmas. Pitch. Decisions. Friends. It seems like a lot, right? How're you holding up?"

I shuffled awkwardly in his grip, and he let's go. "What do you think?"

 _Pitch is planning something!_ I want to yell. _Christmas attack! Ambush! Poison! Dragon!_ "I dunno."

Awkward silence. He's too deep in thought to answer.

"Dreams." I say. Out of all the things, I say dreams.

"Dreams." He repeats, drawing out the word slowly. I spare a glance at him, and I notice the fear in his eyes. Does he know? "I've been having dreams too."

No. He can't. He won't know. Not now, at least.

"I'm not dying on you," he firmly repeats. "I promise."

I can't make that same promise. But I nod anyway.

"And hey," Jack hurriedly asks as I wriggle out of his embrace. "If you wanna talk about it-"

I cringe and grab at Jack's sweatshirt – which I'm still wearing. "No, I don't think I want to-"

"Keep the sweater."

"Sorry, I prefer cloaks. And the material is so thin," I lied. "What's it made of?"

Jack wiggled his eyebrows, his smile faint. "Boyfriend material."

"Oh my Zeus." At least he's back to normal.

"Where are you going?"

"Will and Nico. You coming?"

"Of course, Princess."

"Don't call me Princess."

"Fine, _Princess_. But I'm still going, what kind of boyfriend material would I be made of if I didn't join you?"

"You're not my boyfriend."

"Then why are you still wearing my sweatshirt? Don't you remember, it's-"

"Boyfriend material, Holy Hades I get it!"

"Ah, so you're conceding defeat? Becoming my girlfriend?" Jack asked, trailing after me as I swung open the door. "Have I won?"

"Who said this was a contest?" I slammed the door in his face. I felt a twinge of satisfaction when he yelped.

He opened it back up as if nothing had happened, bumping my shoulder with his staff. "I'm perfect boyfriend material." He cooed. "I'm basically your significant other."

I start walking, acting annoyed (but on the inside, I'm so happy he's back to normal – just don't tell him). "More like significant annoyance."

"Ha! You called me significant! I'm important to you!" Man, this boy drove me crazy.

He tugged on the hood of his sweatshirt, which yes, I was still wearing. "Do you know the Sweater Song?"

I blanched. Why did I have to show him that song? Why did Hedley have to make that song? What did Apollo and his Nine Muses do to get them to write that?!

"Please no." I started walking faster. I didn't need him singing a Hedley song about sweaters and discarded clothing.

He floated into the air, and then flipped upside down in front of me, pretending his staff was an electric guitar. I skidded to a halt, not wanting to plough into him. Then he began to sing.

Well, not actually sing. He 'la, la, laaed,' and 'na, na, naaed' a lot since he didn't know the words. Which was good; I didn't need him singing that awkward last chorus. That would leave me scarred for life.

Then he started air guitaring. I cringed. Where the actual Hera was Will and Nico?

* * *

Nico's POV:

"Around 200 or 300, Will. I sensed that many deaths."

I shivered, despite the fact that Will was sitting beside me, and was ridiculously warm. "Gods." Was all he said. We stayed quiet for a long time. "Lily the nymph died."

I blinked, recalling the story of how the nymph had passed out and Will and a bunch of the Apollo cabin had nursed her back to health. Now she was dead. "They'll reincarnate."

Will shivered. "I know. It's just so… sad." His voice was small. His blue eyes seemed a shade too dull – I would know – I looked into his eyes all the time. I imagined how scared, tired, and disappointed he was. The best I could do for him was stick by his side.

"Hey. Will. It's…" I was going to say, it's OK. But I realized it wasn't. Was it? "I mean… I'm sure it will get better. We've got the Athena, Ares, Nike, and Hephaestus cabin preparing for something. I actually told Chiron about the dragon this morning…"

We were all tangled in a mess. Stuck in the middle. The weather shield was broken. Half of the woods were gone. Jack was in some sort of coma.

He sighed slowly. "Sit with me, Neeks."

I glanced at him, sitting on the steps leading to the dining pavilion. "I am." I motion at the steps to make sure the point is across.

"I think Jay is hiding something." He blurts out.

"Yeah?"

"She was talking to Jack, I think. She said something weird about dreams."

"And you were eavesdropping, I see." I tried to ignore how rapidly my heart was beating. Today wasn't the only day it had occur to me that Will… no, he couldn't. He couldn't like Jay. _She's not his type._ Then what was his type?

He scooted closer. I tried not to flinch. He blushed. Then he slowly snaked an arm around my waist. Now I was really blushing. "What are you doing?" _Jay's not his type._

He looked at me, face flushed, arm still around my waist. "Are you OK with this?"

His gaze was boring into mine. Uncertain, yet confident. Scared, yet strong. It was like he was asking, 'are you gay?'

My heart skipped a beat. I squeezed his hand. "… Yeah. I am."

The dullness in his eyes receded slightly. He smiled, not a full voltage lightning striking smile, but a smile. He squeezed my hand back. "You totally thought I was into Jay."

I looked away in embarrassment. "No I didn't." I say slowly. Not until today.

"You thought she was my type."

"No." I say slowly. Not until today.

"You're gay."

OK, maybe I deserved to give him at least one honest answer. "… yeah." Now he was smiling a full voltage smile. I tried to fight off the blush, but it was a package deal with my smirk. "You were scared I wasn't. Because you are too. And you were scared of rejection." Well, it was easy to say that part. That was how I'd been feeling the whole damn time.

Will blushed just as much as I did. "No! Well… I'm not gay."

OK, that really scared me. "What?!"

He laughed at my reaction. "I'm bi."

Oh. OH. I nod and mutter something like, "Ugnh?"

Will laughs. "Very funny, Ghost King."

I can't help it. I slowly start to laugh.

Something in my chest, a string of tension, seemed to disappear. Will _liked_ me. Will Solace _actually_ _liked_ me. I didn't feel the pressure of all the loss. It just disappeared as easily as candy floss can disappear in your mouth.

Once I'd caught my breath, I noticed Will still grinning at me. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just… this is the happiest I've ever felt in a while."

* * *

Jay's POV:

Oh. OH. OH MY ZEUS.

I shushed Jack. He quickly flipped his floating self the right way up and looked where I was staring. When he saw what I saw, he grinned. I couldn't stop grinning back as I pulled the winter spirit by the staff into the nearest clump of bushes.

"Wow," he said, forgetting about trying to woo me with his annoyingness. "So they do actually like each other."

"Mom," I joked. "Get the camera!"

My heart did a little jig as we spied on Will and Nico, cuddling together on the steps to the dining pavilion.

"Do you think they'll kiss?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think they're cute together?"

I looked at him. "Duh."

"You're right," he said after a while. "They are cute together, but not as cute as us!"

"Jack!"

Nico's POV:

"You do realize that this place looks pretty empty." I say nervously.

Will is still smiling. "Yeah, so?"

"They're spying on us. Like, the whole camp. Or at least the Aphrodite cabin or something."

"Yeah, so? I can hear Jay bickering with Jack in that clump of bushes." He points, fighting off a smirk.

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked. My heart was beating, maybe a bit too fast for comfort.

He wrapped his warm hands around my neck. "Give them what they've been looking for."

Ok, it's official: That was the best first kiss ever.

I liked it, even when Travis, Connor, Katie, Clarisse, Lacy, and Mitchell followed by a bunch of other old timers and Jay popped up, and started cheering. I didn't even flinch when I noticed an Iris message with a bunch of faces from Camp Jupiter – the seven (minus Leo), and Reyna – popped up and they all started cheering too. Percy had started a chant when Will and I pulled away. "Kiss him again! Kiss him again!"

I looked at Will, whose face was flushed. He still grinned like the dork he was. "Shall we?"

"Campers!" yelled a familiar voice.

I jumped awkwardly away from Will, who jumped back in the opposite direction, falling off the steps with a cute – I mean startled! – yelp. Chiron had found all of us. Thalia was sitting on his back (he was in horse-form). She looked like she was trying not to laugh. Even Chiron seemed amused; the corners of his lips were twitching from underneath his whiskers.

"I am sorry to ruin this… ah, moment, but I've called for a head counsellor meeting in the Big House." He looked disappointed, but we all noticed the seriousness in his voice. He let Thalia climb off his back and cantered off.

I hastily jumped up and walked towards the Iris Message, Thalia behind me. "You guys wanna watch our emergency council meeting?"

Percy and Annabeth paled. "Well, is Camp in serious danger? Because…" Percy trailed off and looked at Annabeth. "I kinda like it here."

Thalia smirked. "We Hunters have got it under control."

"Thalia!" Jason, Reyna, Percy and Annabeth all cried in unison.

"What are the Hunters doing there?" Reyna asked.

Thalia nodded curtly at the praetor. "Stopping by, since a certain son of Hades said camp was in danger."

"But it's not," Nico quickly continued. "Everything is being taken care of. The dragon-"

"Wait! No! The Iris mess-" the image and voices of the campers from Camp Jupiter winked out.

Thalia cursed, going to her pockets for another drachma, but soon realized that she had left her jacket in the Artemis cabin. "Damn." She looked at me. "You and your boyfriend coming to the meeting?"

I blushed. "He's not my…"

Thalia held a hand up. "I may have sworn never to fall in love, but I can still tell when people are in love… Plus… well…"

Even though I didn't exactly like Thalia, I tried pressing her. "Well what?"

"The seven have been keeping me updated… may have mentioned something about you two… a lot…"

Now I couldn't stop blushing. "Gah, whatever. Anyways… council meeting. Let me just get Will and Jay."

"Catch you there," Thalia said calmly before sprinting off.

"So are you guys dating?" Jay pestered for about the millionth time on the walk to the Big House.

"Why do you care?" I asked, wanting to bury into my aviator jacket.

"I'm your friend. Of course I care about you two!" she cooed, throwing an arm around my shoulder, and another around Will's.

"Well, can't argue with that," Will decided.

"So…?"

I stopped to face her. "What?" Can you hear the exasperation in my voice?

"Are. You. Guys. Dating?"

"AAGH! Jay can you just shut up about that… we can talk about that after the meeting," I said. Will looked at me.

"We'll talk about it?"

"Oh, uh, well, yeah-"

"Save it!" Jay yelled. "We're at the Big House!" she swung open the door and ushered us in.

The three of us, now silent, made our way to the rec room.

"-And we're just waiting for Will, Nico and Jay for the whole story." Chiron spoke right as the three of us came in. "Ah, there you three are!"

We sat down in the first vacant seats we could find.

"Time for the truth." Chiron spoke sternly, looking at the three of us one by one. "The whole truth."

* * *

 **Yup. Nothing like a bit of Solangelo to brighten up a crappy day. Some kid in my volleyball class was making fun of me because I could barely serve, and I got so mad I ACTUALLY SERVED. Twice. It was a miracle, but I was so mad at him I burst into tears...**

 **Well, review, favourite, follow, and pray that one day I might serve the ball right into the kid's face.**


	29. Silence Equals Secrets

**Hi. Hey. How you doing. I'm just gonna let you read.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

Behind all the jokes, the smiles, and the teasing, I'll have you know that I really do love her. That on the day that she and I kissed, I had never felt so… happy. I loved her. I would do anything for her.

So when she told me that she had carried me for hours to rescue me, I felt… well, extremely thankful. She had risked her life for me. While I had been plunged into nightmare realm with Pitch, saved by the Guardians, and unwillingly been told my future.

* * *

Jay was standing alone in a clearing I didn't recognize. She looked scared, and kept looking at the sky.

"Hey!" I tried to call to her, but she didn't notice me. "Jay!" I floated up to her, waving a hand in front of her face. She didn't notice. Then I tried poking her side with my staff.

It went through her.

Never, ever, ever in the few months that I had known Jay had it occurred to me she'd stop believing. I'd always imagine us sticking together as BFF's (or more, you take your pick). Now it struck me that she was mortal. She'd age. She was already seventeen. My heart felt numb.

 _"They stop believing at eighteen."_ Something whispered in my ear.

"She can't stop believing."

 _"She can. Where is your sense?"_ The same voice whispered in my ear. Pitch. It was Pitch.

"Stop it!" I shouted, whirling around to try and find the stupid bloke, but all I saw was his shadow behind a wall that definitely wasn't there before. "Stop your games and fight me!"

The sky turned black. Jay screamed. "Jack? Why did you leave me?"

I yelled, slamming my staff into the ground. "Don't hurt her!"

Now Pitch did show himself. _"She's already on the edge. All she needs is a little push-"_

I charged at him.

Pitch held up a hand and I stood frozen. I tried moving, but I was stuck. "What are you doing!?"

Pitch sneered, which was quite ugly. _"I need power, Jack."_ There was an ambitious and power-hungry look in his eyes. He looked insane – or at least even more insane. _"I've spent a year underground – even more underground than ever possible."_ He spat. _"The gods have found the Guardians. They've meddled – they put me in Tartarus."_

I vaguely recalled the twisted stories Jay had told me about Tartarus. Nico di Angelo had been in there himself.

"So what are you doing all this for?" I asked. "Letting a dragon loose in Camp? This can't possibly help your cause!"

Pitch snarled, unfreezing me. I dropped to the ground, grabbed my staff, and flew off after Jay. Pitch didn't make any move to follow, but his voice was loud – as if he was still behind me, breathing on my neck.

 _"Young spirit, you're blind."_ He cackled. _"Gods live off of believers – much like the Guardians. And who believes more than-"_

"The campers." I finished. This plan was so twisted, and evil, it was plain Pitch.

 _"Ah, so you aren't that blind."_ I heard something rustle as I tried once again to grab Jay's arm to keep her from running. _"But you wouldn't have ever anticipated this."_

Something had sliced into my back. I gasped, falling to my knees and trying to breathe. I heard the sound of a blade being sheathed before the world went black.

* * *

"Jack?"

"Jack!?"

"He's not gonna wake up, Tooth."

"He's still alive, Bunny! He's dreaming."

"I'm awake guys, and if you keep talking that obnoxiously I'll-"

I opened my eyes, only to realize… wait what?

I was in North's workshop. With the Guardians. But everything was rippling. Sandy was in the corner, deep in concentration, sand flowing from his fingers.

North lumbered into my view. Lying down, I got a nice look up his nostrils. Yikes, with a capital YIKES.

"What… why am I here?"

North bent over me and helped me up. "We are in dream," he said. His voice felt so familiar that I felt a twinge of melancholy. I actually missed these guys.

"It's your dream, mate," Bunny said. He was standing to my right, nose twitching, foot thumping.

"We've been trying to contact you," Tooth added. "But… we don't know exactly what's been going on." She smiled sadly. "We miss you."

I tried feeling my back. There were no gashes or cuts. It was just my back, covered up in that T-shirt. "I- I miss you guys too."

North smiled, but quickly shook himself. "We don't have time. Sandy can only protect you from Pitch's nightmares for so long."

"Ay," continued Bunny. "That Pitch is up to something-"

"He's going to try overthrowing the gods by exterminating Camp Half-Blood." I said.

"There's more," Tooth said urgently. She fluttered down to my height. "There's a girl he's trying to kill. He thinks you might try to stop his plans."

"And he plans to destroy you by destroying the _girl_." Bunny snorts. "Please. Like a Sheila could make Jack want to-" he paused to look at me. The fear and uncertainty on my face didn't go unnoticed. "Jack? Who's this girl?"

The three Guardians looked at me.

"The gods issued a prophecy." I began. "The first line was, _He of Frost and She of Sun._ He of Frost, well, that's me. But, She of Sun… That's…" my throat felt dry. "That's Jay." The thought of her dying made my chest feel numb.

North frowned. "Jay?"

I nodded mutely, looking at the floor. I could imagine the Guardian's exchanging looks of confusion, but all I could think of was what Tooth had said. Pitch was trying to kill Jay? I closed my eyes, feeling absolutely _sucktastic_.

Suddenly I noticed all the conversation had stopped. I opened my eyes. The Guardians had disappeared – or I had disappeared. Everything was dead silent. I was frozen in place, when a searing hot light flashed in my face. "AAGH!"

* * *

When the light faded away, I was floating over Camp Half-Blood. From my bird's eye view, I could see the Helios cabin. Jay suddenly walked out, brown and blue hair standing out even from so high up. From the way she suddenly started running, I had a feeling she was mad. Then suddenly I saw myself flying after her. And then myself getting knocked back into the cabin by an invisible force.

Dream Jay was still running, going in the direction of the forest. Dream Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Something told me this scene seemed familiar. No, not just because I was familiar with myself and Jay. But… I had seen this scene before. Or, the pre scene before…

My date with Jay at the pond. The sand on the ice.

I didn't know what to make of my dreams. They were all connected, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. But I couldn't help but wonder if a couple of pieces got stuck under the couch… Sorry, that was a bad metaphor.

Suddenly, things went black again. But, this time, the darkness seemed comforting – it was Nico di Angelo compared to Pitch. I personally liked Nico, like, ten bazillion times more than Pitch, which meant that that was a good thing.

Then I heard the sobbing.

I knew that it was Jay. I tried opening my eyes, but I couldn't. It felt like my eyelashes were glued shut.

Then I heard her talking, insulting herself. Calling herself soft. Acting like she was a mistake.

I had never seen Jay like this before. She had always seemed kind of strong, brave in her own way. Maybe not the biggest, baddest demigod, but still very confident. But here she was, crying, banging her head on the desk. What was wrong?

Oh right. Pitch was getting ready to kill us.

* * *

Jay's POV:

The whole truth would be too much. I looked at Nico and Will, whose expressions mirrored mine: We were all nervous, scared, and maybe just a bit worried.

Jack squeezed my hand urgently. I got the message without looking at him. This was a bad idea. I gave him a slight nod, but he squeezed my hand, more urgently this time. "Not now." I mouthed.

Chiron (he was in his wheelchair mode, if you really wanna know) was still glaring at the three of us, waiting for an explanation. The rest of the head counsellors looked confused. My stomach churned. What were we supposed to do?

Will and Nico looked at me. As if they were waiting… for me.

"I – We…" I looked at Chiron, who, judging by his expression, wouldn't take no for an answer. But… "Chiron, we can't."

Clarisse glared at me. "Are you kidding me, girly?"

I clenched my fists. "We're sworn to secrecy."

"By who?" asked Clarisse.

"None of your business," Will grumbled. "Just take the answer guys, please."

Chiron looked mad. "Mr. Solace, you and Nico swore to tell us everything!"

Before I could process what he had just said, Nico stood up. "That was before we knew what we were getting into!" he growled. "We're sworn to secrecy, like Jay said." I had never exactly feared Nico, but his tone made me glad he was sided with me. The Aphrodite head councillor had yelped so loud that even Chiron sent her a glare.

Chiron sighed. "This meeting is dismissed. All of you, leave." He ordered sharply.

Since when did Chiron dismiss meetings so easily? Well, whatever. I wasn't complaining. Maybe he was just tired.

I started tugging Jack towards the door, but Chiron said, "Except for Jay, Will, and Nico."

I cursed and slumped back into my seat. Will followed my example before glaring at Nico to do the same thing. I scowled. Chiron was never like this. Something felt wrong about the situation. I glanced at the old centaur.

I felt a tap on my hand. I looked back at Jack, who looked kind of panicky. _"It's not him,"_ he whispered urgently.

Before I could understand what he was talking about, I heard Chiron mutter something. "Huh?" I asked.

His sad eyes didn't seem the same. Wait…

Last I remember, Chiron's eyes weren't gray…

Shoot.

Just as I stood up and was about to tell Will and Nico to haul their butts out, Chiron slumped forward. The boys lunged up and over to him.

"Guys WAIT!" they looked at me. "Gray eyes. He's-"

 _"POSSESSED."_ Chiron sat up again, this time with eyes just gray; pupils, iris, and even the white stuff that should stay white. Jack yelped. _"Took you enough time,"_ he said. Well, not exactly said. Chiron's mouth wasn't moving, but a raspy, ugly, voice filled the room.

Chiron's form shook, his eyes flickering back and forth between gray and their normal colour.

Nico's hand flew to pull out his sword, but he didn't have it. He cursed in Greek and looked around for a weapon. On the Ping-Pong table was a knife – Clarisse's knife. Nico could have grabbed it, but Chiron somehow beat him to it. More cursing – but not just from Nico. I've been told I have quite the potty-mouth.

Will stood back, fingers in his mouth, preparing to do his sonic whistle thing. But then possessed Chiron threw the knife.

Jack yelled and jumped in front of me, which was dumb because the knife was headed for Will. Will ducked with a shriek, rolling to the right. The knife sailed into the wall, in the exact position where Will's head had been moments ago.

Nico lunged for the knife.

Pfft. Of course they were playing with knives.

I grabbed at Jack's arms. Obviously he would be able to help. "Freeze the centaur dude for crying out loud!"

"Oh. Right!"

For some reason, throwing that knife must have made possessed Chiron really weak. Maybe real Chiron and possessing bastard guy were having a little war in that body. That would explain why his eyes kept flickering.

Well, anyways, Jack readied his staff as if it was a gun and shot a blast of ice, instantly freezing Chiron.

I walked cautiously towards the statue. "Will. C'mon. Pitch is still in there. I think." Will hesitated before following me.

I glanced at the three boys. "Ok. I'm gonna unfreeze him. Then we touch him. Got it Will?"

Will looked confused. But he nodded. "OK. Touch the guy. Got it. Get rid of the shadows with sunshine. Because we're cliché like that."

"If this doesn't work…" Nico trailed off. "You might get a horse hoof in the gut."

"There's a chance Pitch isn't in there." I countered. Hopefully my voice wasn't too shaky.

"Then what is this for?"

"Just in case. So we don't risk _that_ much."

"Since when have you cared about _risk_?"

I ignored him. I closed my eyes and tried concentrating. I thought of the sun, the fiery, blazing hot anger I felt when I knew I'd never ever meet my father. The rage I felt when I knew Pitch had burnt a good chunk of my home. The fury that came over me when I knew Jack was being seriously affected by Pitch.

I could sense Jack hovering somewhere nearby. Will is so close beside me, I can hear his breath. Nico somewhere behind us, holding that gosh darn knife. The three boys were waiting.

My hand hovered on the handle of Chiron's wheel chair. _Hm._ I guess it was stupid of Pitch to choose to possess Chiron when he was in wheel chair mode, when he could have gotten some really cool equine horse legs.

When I touched the handle, I didn't expect to feel warm. But my hands were hot, burning, actually. I was scared I might set something on fire. I opened my eyes, watching as the ice thawed away, dripping into a puddle at our feet.

Within a minute, all the ice was gone. I placed a hand on Chiron's shoulder. Will followed my example with the other shoulder.

Another minute.

Dead silence.

We've been having a lot of those awkward silences lately. It wasn't like we had that much to say. We all knew each other well, and, well, silence just seemed kinda symbolic. _'Silence is the most powerful scream.' 'Humans waste words.'_

Silence.

 _When Chiron opens his eyes, he is greeted by four teenagers. One is holding a knife. Two have hands on his shoulder. The other is invisible. But he opens his eyes, which are no longer gray. They're his eyes._

Chiron was a strong centaur/dude/guy. "I was trying to fight off Pitch. He was the one who issued the council meeting. He was the one-" his face fell and he looked at me. "You have powers?"

I nodded. "I'm an oven – complete with a light system." I say solemnly.

Chiron's mouth twitched. "I am sorry, my dears."

Will nodded. "We understand." _Actually, we don't._

"Do you remember anything?" I asked.

Chiron's eyes seemed old and weary, like he didn't want to answer. "I'm getting old. I won't die anytime soon, but…"

Ok. That obviously wasn't the answer I was looking for.

Nico slowly lowered the knife down onto the Ping-Pong table and grabbed onto Chiron's wheel chair. "Where do you wanna go?"

He and Will steered the centaur away.

I didn't exactly feel it at first, but now I felt tired. I took in a shaky breath and looked at my hands. They weren't burnt, so that was good.

I felt Jack squeeze my shoulder. He did this a lot. I guess, since I was probably going to die soon… tomorrow. Tomorrow was Christmas. I guess I just wanted to let him. Just in case I ended up in Asphodel.

 _Ugh_ , I tried chiding myself. _He's an immortal being. It's not like it was going to work in the first place._

"Walk with me?" he asked.

I sighed. "Sure. Why not."

Silence.

* * *

Jack's POV:

I can pretty much feel her fear. Her nerves. Her emotions are eating her up, but she'd never admit that. She was trying to stay strong. _To hide._

When my sister used to feel all weepy about our MIA dad, I used to take her on walks. We'd play games. We'd sing. I'd try to cheer her up. It almost always worked. Jay's emotions seemed to be a mangled mess, and needed to be walked out.

So I did the first thing I could think of.

I took her on a walk.

* * *

Jay's POV:

It's not like it was a long walk. We walked out of the Big House. To where the woods met the camp. Leo Valdez was in the armoury. Clarisse and her cabin mates were beating the Apollo cabin in a basketball game. The Aphrodite kids were chatting and flirting. It was like it was a normal day.

I had never felt so at home with camp. I liked everything about it (except for, well, some stuff) – even the white haired boy who followed me around it. I wanted to preserve this place. Protect it from Pitch.

I had figured out half – or maybe more than half - of the situation. No one else had. Nico and Will weren't getting any dreams about the situation. Jack probably was though. He might have figured it out. I looked at him.

Blue eyes. Good. At least those were intact. Frosty, white hair. Check. Cute, boyish face? Yup. Bright smile… well, it wasn't that bright. I wanted him to smile.

"What are you looking at?" he asked. "You checking me out?"

I didn't answer. That must have unnerved him because he stopped walking and grabbed my shoulders. "You OK Jay?"

I looked him in the eyes. I could easily kiss him, right then and there. But I held myself back. "I'm fine."

His face didn't look that tense anymore. "If _you're_ OK, then _I'm_ OK."

 _Then I guess you're not that OK, Jack._

"How did you know that you and Will could expel the darkness?"

"… the book incident."

"Oh." Silence.

Silence equals secrets. I'm keeping secrets, from him, from Will and Neeks, from the gods. I'm keeping all these secrets, these whispered words and promises. Burdens. Burdens as heavy as hard cover math textbooks. Burdens. Promises. Silence. Secrets.

I pull Jack closer to me as we walk. He hesitantly wraps an arm around me. I hold his free hand. I must look weird, but I don't give a schist.

Burdens.

Promises.

Silence.

Secrets.

Silence equals secrets.

* * *

It's like I'm losing my mind.

At night, I feel too scared to go to sleep. I'm huddled up in the corner of my room, listening to a random song on my phone.

My hands are shaking. It's really warm in the cabin, but I'm under a huge blanket. All I can think about is Christmas. The little deal I had made with Jack. Pitch.

I'd have Jack as my boyfriend for… a couple hours tops.

It's 11:56 pm. Four more minutes, and then it's Christmas.

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, was the day when I did nothing but talk to Jack, Will, and Neeks. I let Jack flirt. I teased Will and Neeks. Will sang. Nico complained about his singing, until Will started holding his hand.

It was actually fun. Weird, but fun. It felt… normal. Like, maybe that's what a mortal would be doing. That's what Nyssa, Dawn, Gabby, Jason and Dan were probably doing. Chilling. Talking. Being normal.

11:57.

I had always loved Christmas. It was the one day in the year when I could do so many things – stay up, watch a movie, play in the snow. I had loved it up to when I went homeless.

Then Christmas wasn't so much fun. I couldn't bring myself to celebrate it by myself.

It had become a sort of cruel joke.

11:58.

The song on my phone changes, and I instantly recognize it. It's Car Radio, by twenty one pilots.

I don't bother rapping along to the words. I know most of them. I can't help but realize how fitting the song is for my situation – I'm alone with my silence. Except no one took my car radio.

They took my sanity.

11:59.

One more minute, and then my life changes. My secrets will meld together. Then I'll be nothing.

I don't want Pitch to win. But he's planned. He's strategized. He knows our moves. He's spent time going over possibilities. He's messed with us.

But I don't want him to win.

12:00.

 _Welcome to your doom, Jay Swift._

I don't want him to win.

* * *

 **OK. So, I can bet that a lot of you know the song Car Radio by twenty one pilots. I didn't mean to put it in here, it just kinda happened. And that quote, "Silence is the most powerful scream," is from some Internet thing I found. "Humans waste words," is from the book The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.**

 **Yup. I put a disclaimer on some random things mentioned in a chapter, when I forget to put a disclaimer on Percy Jackson and the Olympians AND Rise of the Guardians. Well, those two blessings don't belong to me. I'm just a fangirl. There. It was about time that I put a disclaimer on at least one of my stories.**


	30. You Were Never a Coward

**DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE! TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON SOMETHING ELSE (cough cough Donald Trump) .**

 **HE HE HE...**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jay's POV:

At 12:01, I hear a knock at my door. I paused my music. I have a bad feeling in my gut – what if it was Pitch, ready to kill me?

"Jay? I know you're awake." It's Jack's voice, but I'm still paranoid.

"When's my birthday?"

"Heck, I dunno. You never told me."

I relaxed a bit. "Come in."

Jack ducked through the door, staff swung over his shoulder. "'Sup, Princess." He paused to look at me. I must have looked as scared as I felt, because he immediately rushed to my side. "Princess? What's wrong? You, know, I only came to say Merry Christmas, but…" he looked at me again.

"I'm fine. Merry Christmas."

Jack sat beside me. "You're not fine. But Merry Christmas to you too."

I looked away. I didn't exactly feel in the festive mood. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"You're not fine." He repeated.

No. He couldn't know. I had to distract him. "The deal."

He blinks stupidly. A goofy grin comes onto his face, but is soon masked by a concerned frown. "That can wait." He grabbed my shoulders gently. My phone slipped from my fingers. "What's wrong, Jay?"

I took in a shaky breath. I didn't wanna lie. But, in reality, was this even a lie? "I… a lot of things. Most of them I'm not even sure about… and… and…" I closed my eyes. _Tears_ , I thought _. If you gods damn tears fall this time, I will just…_

"You can tell me. I won't tell a living – or dead for that matter – soul." He promised. Even in the dark, his hair could be seen easily. It practically shimmered.

"Is it OK if I keep it to myself?"

Jack closed his eyes. "I don't want you too." He grabbed my shoulders again, and I thought of the time when we kissed. But he didn't kiss me. There was a frantic look in his eyes as he searched my own. "There's something seriously bothering you."

"How would you be so sure, Jack?"

"Well, for one, you'd never bring up our deal." He smirked sadly. "And you were listening to that song. The one you said was about… going insane. Creepy thoughts in your head. Didn't you say that you listened to music only if it matched your mood?"

Shoot. I had said that? I never actually thought he'd remember that. "How would you have remembered that I had said that?"

Jack snorted. "I notice you, in case you haven't noticed."

The fact that he noticed something like that about me was sweet. What else did he notice? "That's kind of unnerving." I lied.

He chuckled. "It is? I was hoping you'd take that as a compliment."

I looked away again.

"Hey." He reached out and grabbed my chin, pointing it to face him. "What's gotten into you?" he bites his lip, as if he wants to kiss me but is holding back. "You almost never look away. You're always trying to glare me down."

That was true. "Look. I just… don't wanna talk about it. OK?"

He frowned and let go of my chin. I can tell that he wants to talk about it, but is wise enough to change the subject. _Just because he's wise enough, doesn't mean he likes it_ , says my heart. _Shut up_ , my head argues.

"Why… why are you so worried about me anyways?" I ask. _Jack gives me a look like, are you kidding me woman?_

He leaps up and whirls around to look at me. "Are you kidding? After that whole conversation?" He grabs my hands and pulls me into him. "You, are my only friend here. And, right when I think I have a legitimate chance with you…" he closes his eyes. "You're not… you."

"I've liked you, for, like, forever." He continues. "I mean, come on, who doesn't like you?"

I open my mouth to answer, but he holds up a hand. He's not finished talking. "Well, I don't think anyone loves you as much as I do." His eyes are open, searching for me. He's frantic and desperate, driven by love. "I'm in love with you, Jay." Biting his lip again. Since when was that a thing with him? "I'm in love with you, and I don't want you to grow up, I just want you to stay like this, with me, for… for forever."

He still has that frantic look in his eyes. But when I look into them, I'm not scared. All my fear disappears for a few fabulous moments. "I… I…" My throat is dry. I'm ready to say the answer that's been on the tip of my tongue for forever. "I… I love you too Jack." I force myself to look directly in his eyes, hoping I don't look as nervous as I feel. "I want you to be my boyfriend."

He pulled me into a kiss, even better than the one we shared at the pond. My stomach turns to mush. I feel safe; I feel like I can punch Pitch between the eyes.

When we pull away, I'm surprised with the empty feeling back in my stomach. I look at Jack, and I'm tempted to kiss him again.

He's wrapped me in his icy embrace. He doesn't make any move to let go of me, so I snuggle into his chest. He rests his head on my hair. "I don't wanna grow up." I realize. Well, who wants to grow up? It was something you couldn't escape. But I couldn't see myself as an adult. I couldn't imagine what I would be – what job I'd have.

The idea of losing Jack to grow up tore my heart in two. I hugged him tighter.

"I know you don't wanna grow up," Jack says soothingly. "I don't want you to grow up either. But, the prophecy said I had to find my fate."

"And that was the cliché way of saying, 'Find the girl of your dreams.'" I add. Where is he going with this?

"Yeah. So, that must mean, well, our souls are bound to be together." Hm. Never thought about it like that. He must have really thought this through.

I yawn slowly. "Thanks, Jack. For everything."

Now he's confused. I'm tempted to say, 'why are we suddenly so emotional?' but I decided that would ruin the moment. "Thanks for… what?"

I smiled. "For being there. Supporting me… Loving me."

He grins his signature Jack Frost grin, scoops me up, and puts me on my bed. "Go to sleep, Princess."

He must have seen the panic in my eyes. "I… Can… can you stay?" I mumble. I was suddenly reminded of how scary my dreams were. How vivid…

 _Oh no. Please stay Jack…_

"Sure. But… I'm not going to sleep."

He flopped casually onto my desk chair. I tossed him my phone. "You know what Crossy Road is?"

"No?"

"It's a game. It's addicting. Just put the phone on mute and play." That will keep you distracted.

"… OK?"

I sigh in relief. Jack is as oblivious as ever.

"Goodnight, Princess." He kisses my cheek. "I love you."

I glanced at him, the hopefulness shining in his eyes. I move over to kiss him on the lips. I look at him – the boy that I loved, but may never see again. "I love you too, Jack."

I shut my eyes.

* * *

Nico's POV:

"C'mon, Thals-"

"di Angelo, I will not tolerate you calling me Thals."

I shut my eyes. "You guys can't leave."

Thalia shook her head. "We took care of the dragon."

"You don't understand-"

"What's there to understand?" thunder rumbles in the distance. The air suddenly has that electric feel to it, like I had stuck my finger in a socket.

Great. I was going to get blasted into smithereens on Christmas morning. Oh well.

Thalia sighed. "Look. We Hunters, are busy, OK?" She places her hands on her hips. Like there needs to be more sass in this world. "We know that you campers can take care of your problems."

"But this isn't just, our problem-"

"NICO!" she shouts. More thunder rumbles. Her anger is probably what's causing the storm. "Shut up! I don't wanna hear it!" she threatens. "Just let us go."

I clench my fists. "Fine. It'll be your fault when the domain of the gods just crumbles. Merry Christmas by the way." I add a slight snarl, just for effect. Then I turn heel and stomp off.

"Nico-"

"Go on. Leave us."

Thalia ran to catch up with me. "What in Hades do you mean, the domain of the gods will crumble?"

"I'm sworn to secrecy."

Thalia curses. "The Son of Hades is actually going by an oath? This might actually be serious."

"Well it's about time you actually listen!"

Thalia smirks slightly. "You…remind me of your sister."

"… Ok then."

"Look. We Hunters are busy, but I'll leave Kay-Cee and Cecelia to watch out. Those two are great, and they'll be able to get a warning to us in time." She nods at me curtly. "Deal?"

I hold my hand out. Two Hunters are better than none, right? "Deal."

Boy was I stupid for making that deal.

* * *

Jack's POV:

I shake myself out of my Crossy Road frenzy (my new score is 300, and I won at least half of the characters – Jay was right, the game is addicting) around 7 and sneak out of Jay's cabin while she's sleeping so that I can hyperventilate in peace.

I'm so excited that I can finally call Jay mine, that I escape to the beach and turn a good chunk of the canoe lake into an ice rink. "WOO-HOO!"

I land on the ice and start doing a bunch of pirouettes. My mind becomes a blank canvas, and my imagination starts to paint ideas – what our first date might be like – ooh, should I take her on another trip around the world? Take her to a dinner in Paris? Nah, that would be really boring. A movie? Maybe… She did like Disney, after all…

I was so caught up in my daydream that I accidentally skated right into a tree. "AAGH!" I sit up slowly and rub my head, hoping not to find a bump. "Ow…"

I hear a soft chattering sound somewhere to my right that sounds suspiciously like laughter. "Baby Tooth!"

 _Wow,_ I think to myself as I tickle the little fairy. _This day just keeps getting better and better!_

Boy was I stupid for thinking that.

* * *

Jay's POV:

When I wake up, Jack is gone. I check my Crossy Road.

 _New score!_ It reads. _300!_

Holy cow.

I put down my phone before I can go into yet another Crossy Road frenzy (the last one was so bad, Will had to confiscate my phone, and for a whole day, I acted like Shayne Gray from Camp Rock ["I've stared at a tree, I need hair product!"]) In other words, YIKES.

I get ready for the day sluggishly. I don't feel ready to greet the world – I wanna stay in the darkness of my cabin. Oh, maybe not in the darkness. I'll turn on the lights. Right.

Then I hear a knock on my door. "Jay?" it sounds like Nico.

I carefully edge to the door. "Are you armed?"

"Are you decent?" he shoots back jokingly. "Sheesh, just let me in."

I clear my throat.

"Fine! My sword is in my cabin. I swear it on the Styx."

I sigh in relief. "Come in."

Nico strides in, and I'm struck with how his confidence with people has evolved. Last I remember, he would be carefully edging in, maybe just sticking in the doorway. _Well, I guess you won't be alive the day he skips in hand in hand with Will,_ I think sadly.

Great. Another feels-trip. Just when I'm feeling slightly better-

"What's gotten into you?" Nico suddenly asks.

I whip around. "I'm fine."

He's scowling. "Jay-" he bites his lip before continuing, "Jay, look, keeping secrets isn't a good thing."

OK, I don't know why, but that kinda hurt. "Says you," I mumble.

"Jay-"

"Nico, can you just not?"

"Jay, the Hunters-"

"I don't effing care about the Hunters!" I feel sick. The room is swaying. Is it just my imagination or is Nico…

"Jay."

What's happening to Nico? His face is dissolving. He's turning into an all too familiar nightmarish face. "GET OUT!" I scream at Pitch. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, PITCH!?"

Pitch grins, but his words don't match his expression. "Jay, what's going on?"

I scream. "GET. OUT!"

Pitch turns heel and runs.

* * *

Nico's POV:

Jay is not OK. That much is obvious.

I run straight to the Apollo cabin without hesitation. "Will!" I yell, banging on the door. "Will!"

Just as I'm about to knock again, Kayla opens the door. "Can't we get our beauty sleep?"

"It's urgent. Where's Will?"

Will gently pushes Kayla to the side, smiling in embarrassment. "I've got Nico, you guys catch up on your sleep." He reassures his cabin-mates. Kayla and a bunch of his younger siblings giggled as we left.

When we're out of earshot, Will is still blushing. "Did you really have to do that?"

"Something's up with Jay."

Will frowns. "What?"

"She's paranoid over something. Like, seriously paranoid. She thought I was Pitch."

Will curses in Greek. "That can't be good."

Will ran a hand through his messy bed hair, chewing on his lip. He must be really worried.

"Should we tell Jack?" I asked.

"Actually, that's not that bad of an idea." He's still frowning. "But he may already know."

I grabbed his hand and started walking.

Will let me pull him away.

* * *

Jay's POV:

Jack swings by my cabin with Will an hour later.

"Guys-"

Jack bounds over to me. "Jay, you're not OK. You thought Nico was Pitch, when he wasn't. Your imagination is poisoned with fear." He grabbed both of my hands. "I'm no good at this. Sandy is always the expert. But…"

"Take a deep breath," Will suggests. "Close your eyes. Relax yourself."

I tried following what he told me to do. Jack hummed soothingly, stroking my hair. "Pitch was never there." His voice is steely calm.

"It was only your imagination." I hear Will say. Then I hear some feet shuffling.

"It's just me. Nico."

I opened my eyes. No Pitch. I sighed in relief. "He's gone!"

The three boys exhaled.

"Jay," Will says as he walks over, "You have to be able to perceive what's real and what's fake."

"Your imagination is turning your reality into an illusion." Nico adds. "Remember how we act – remember the smallest things, and there's a chance you'll be able to look through that illusion."

"OK." Actually, it's not OK. I'm gonna die. At this point, I don't know how I should be feeling. Pitch had been feeding the fire of my nightmares, rooting me to a spot in the woods as I watch myself die to the hands of the dragon. Was I gonna die? Were these premonitions?

Yesterday, I had walked over to Leo Valdez and asked him what it felt like to die. He had explained in great disturbing detail the pain, the fear, the stress, and just about every negative emotion that had been running through his head. But, the thing is, he had a plan. Did I have a plan? No. I just knew I was gonna die.

I needed a plan.

Dragons. Plan. Dragons… what did dragons like that I had?

Suddenly it hit me.

The crystal ball. Dragons liked treasure, right? The crystal ball counted as treasure, right? If I handed it to the dragon, told it to knock it off… No, if I lead it away from Camp Half-Blood and used the ball as bait… But I'd still need to kill it.

"To any of the gods, I offer this prayer," I mumbled. "I need your guidance. Now if you could be kind enough to give it to me…"

"Hoot."

I opened my eyes, only to see a familiar owl at my door. "Oothay!"

"Hoot! Hoot!" he called urgently. I scrambled after him.

"Something wrong?"

"Hoot!" I wasn't sure, but I had feeling he wanted me to follow him.

"OK, let's go!"

Oothay spread his wings and flew off. I chased after him.

Now, some of the campers, no, most of the campers were staring as I chased after the sacred animal of Athena. But, luckily, they knew I was weird. They ignored me.

I chased the friendly owl all the way to the beach. When I got there, I had to stop, catch my breath, check out my… surroundings. The water was frozen over, so it looked suspiciously like an ice rink. I supressed a laugh as I wondered what Jack had done.

Oothay flew to my shoulder and pecked at me, shaking me out of my fantasy. I blushed and continued to follow the owl (who was now flying at a slower pace since I was winded).

After another minute of walking, Oothay guided me to a log. "Hoot."

I glanced at the wise owl, then back at the log. "So… is this what you wanted to show me? Is this, like, a get-to-know-each-other moment, or…"

If the owl was a human, he'd probably snort and roll his eyes. He motioned with a wing at a little knot-hole in the wood of the log. I shrugged, and peered into the hole.

Inside – no, I'm not joking, was what looked suspiciously like a magic potion – like the cartoon ones in the tiny glass vials. I nearly died of laughter at the weirdness of it all.

I sighed when Oothay gave me a serious look, like, _'get over yourself,'_ and reached to grab the vial. "What the heck is this?" I asked.

Instead of giving me an answer, he flew off in the direction of camp. I yelled, pocketed the vial, and chased after the owl yet again.

This was gonna be a long Christmas.

* * *

Jack's POV:

Around 10:00 pm, I swing by Jay's cabin. Of course, she's awake, sitting at her desk. Usually, at this time, she's in her pyjamas, but lately she's been too lazy to change out of her day clothes. Her jeans are dirty, and she's wearing my sweatshirt over her camp shirt.

When she hears me coming in, her hands scramble to pocket something she was holding. She puts on a smile – but it's obviously fake. "Hey, Jack."

I walk up to her and sit on her desk. "What's in your pocket?" I hate how I have to always ask her questions. It bothers me that she doesn't always tell me everything. She's my girlfriend now, right? She can trust me, and I can trust her.

"Stuff. It's not that important." She fibs awkwardly. "So, why you here?"

"I wanna know what's in your pocket."

"Why?" she smiles slightly. "You're a snoop, and a stalker, you know?"

"I'm not joking, Jay. I wanna know." I say, trying not to sound too gentle.

Jay drops her smile and frowns. "Can't you respect my privacy? All you've been doing is asking me personal questions."

"Hey, we're dating now!" I argue. "You can tell me stuff. I'll still respect you and see you as the _amazing_ girl you are."

She crosses her arms and stands up. "Oh, is that really how relationships work?" she looks really uncertain. "Suddenly we're supposed to be open people, just like that, even if we've only been dating for a day?"

"Well-"

"Why don't you wait a couple more months?" she mocks. "Then I can tell you – but wait, I can't!"

I stood up and looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

She shakes her head and doesn't answer. She looks taken aback by her own words. "N-nothing."

Ok, if I wasn't pissed before, I sure as heck was now. "Stop hiding from me! Why are you so scared? You were never this much of a coward before!"

The surprise on her face immediately turns into disgust. It's hard to tell who she's disgusted with. "So I'm a coward now, huh."

"Jay – I take it back – I didn't mean it-"

"Oh, so you don't mean it but you say it anyways?" she says. I immediately feel guilty. "Why don't you just get out of my cabin?"

"Jay-"

"Jack!" she yells, pointing at the door. Her eyes are shining with tears. "Leave me. Alone. You don't need to date a coward."

I look at her longingly – the last time I'll ever do that – and turn away.

Once I heard her slam the door, I immediately wanted to apologize. I was the one who called her a coward. But, she'd been so secretive lately… I wanted and needed an answer – a legitimate, truthful answer – that came from her. And she wasn't giving me one.

It never occurred to me until then that I was the coward – I was the softie. I was torn when I saw her run out of her cabin and charge at top speed for the woods.

I scowled. What was she up to? Was she just going there to cry? _"You don't need to date a softie."_ I felt sick. She must have felt terrible. I had to go after her and apologize.

"Jay! JAY WAIT UP!" I jumped into the air and zoomed after her.

Jay acted as if she didn't hear me. She continued running until I couldn't see her. "Jay! I'm sorry!"

Suddenly, a wall of black sand rose up out of seemingly nowhere, blocking me from chasing Jay. I tried ramming into the wall, but it solidified within seconds. We were separated by the darkness. Who would have thought?

"Oh no, no, no," I cursed, blasting a hasty blast of ice at the wall in frustration. I looked around. There were no campers in sight. The length of the wall of sand seemed to stretch out forever, but if I flew above it…

"Wind, it's now or never."

I rocketed upwards.

* * *

Heartbroken.

That's all I could feel. It was like my soul had been torn in two and stuck in a blender. My heart throbbed dully.

It had taken me a long time to overcome the barrier Pitch had made. By the time I made it over, I knew for sure something wasn't right. I heard a dragon roar. The wall dissolved into the ground. Campers streamed out of their cabins, but I paid them no attention. Jay needed my help.

As I zoomed through the woods, nymphs jumped out at me. Some said, "leave her, you have found her fate, she must find hers," while others said, "Save her while you still can! Restore the balance!"

I couldn't understand anything of what these nymphs were saying. Jay had to find her fate? I had to restore what balance?

In my mumbo-jumbo of thoughts, it occurred to me that the prophecy had spoken about a dragon. _Until the dragon eats its prey, their forbidden love is burnt and frayed._

My stomach churned when I realized that we had never thought of this 'prey.'

My head was pounding in its skull as I tried tracking down my beloved Jay.

"Restore the balance," a tree whispered.

"She must succeed," another one replied.

"Pitch must stay in Tartarus," a third tree murmured.

I felt as if there was a huge chunk of a clue that we were still missing. What balance was needed to be restored?

 _ROAR!_

I was snapped out of my thoughts and continued flying.

"Jay? I'm coming for you Jay!" I called, hoping for a reply.

All I was met with was a scream – a very loud, close scream. I swallowed my fear and continued flying. Suddenly another scream. A mighty roar – but it sounded more anguished than anything.

I froze for a moment, wondering what on earth was going on. If anything, it couldn't be good.

Suddenly, the forest was silent. No roaring, no screaming, just silence. "Jay? Jay where are you?"

No answer. I searched frantically for Jay, scouring carefully yet quickly. "Jay!? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a-"

My voice died in my throat.

Heartbroken.

That's all I could feel. I didn't give a fudge about Pitch. When did I ever care? Not now. All I cared about was Jay – my Jay, who was lying in the dirt.

A pool of blood seeping into the dirt around her limp body. There's a huge gash across her stomach.

Frowning, face streaked with tears, even near death.

Her eyes flutter open when she hears me. I drop to my knees and cradle her in my arms. "Jay – what happened? What did you do? I have to take you to the Healers-"

She squeezed my hand. "No, Jack." Her eyes flutter closed for a few seconds. I can't stop my own tears from falling. "This was the sacrifice-"

"Jay-"

"The balance is restored." Her eyes fluttered closed for a few moments. "The dragon… Pitch… Poison…" She's slipping into unconsciousness.

"You were never a coward," I blurt. Her eyes are still closed. She doesn't make any notion of hearing what I had said. My heart freezes. "You're a hero. I'm the coward. The softie. You were…" I break into tears when I realize she never got to hear those words.

I yell at the sky. I curse everything. It starts to snow.

Jay is gone. She was a hero. And she never knew it.

* * *

 **So... hi. Please don't kill me. One dead person is enough...**

 **How was the story? Did you like it? It's finished...**

 ***screams of anguish in the background***

 **GEEZ! I'm joking!**

 **...**

 **One more chapter. I think.**

 **Are you guys confused? Send me questions. IN REVIEWS. REVIEWS ARE LIFE SUPPORT. Feedback? REVIEW. Rants? REVIEW.**

 **But seriously, just stick with me until next chappie. It will come. Cross my heart.**


	31. One Last Chapter

**Please. After reading this chapter, read the Author's Note at the very bottom, and the Epilogue!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Jack's POV:

 _She was a hero. And she never knew it._

I hold her limp body in my arms. She's cold. The blood is seeping away so fast that she's now as pale as Nico di Angelo. The comparison makes my head throb.

I want to fly her away to get her a magic potion to heal her. But I know of no potion.

I want to be able to kiss her again – the feeling, the spark I'd been feeling for less than 24 hours. It hadn't vanished. It was still tingling on my lips; a cruel reminder that the girl I loved with a passion was taken away from me.

I think of all the memories I ever had of her: her wild stories about her friends, us fooling around, playing, hanging out, everything. Before long, all the memories were too much to handle. I choked on a sob and held Jay in my arms, not sure of what to do.

"Why did you do this to me?" I asked, though I wasn't sure who I was asking. The Fates? The Gods? The Man in the Moon? Jay? Pitch?

I got no reply. My voice echoed off to who knows where.

It's not like I'd experienced having someone taken away from me – Because I have – but this felt different... in two ways. One, it felt like my heart had been torn out, spat on, put in a blender, then swirled around until it was just… revolting.

Second, sure, I was heartbroken. But something felt off. I had experienced losing a loved one. Yes. But it hadn't felt like this. Something was different. I checked Jay's pulse. There wasn't one. So she was dead. But why did I feel so…

Was this it? Did they take her from me? I had never felt so lost. So many questions had been left unanswered, and maybe the one person who knew all the answers was now dead.

What balance was unbalanced anyways?

Did Jay kill the dragon?

Was it worth her life?

Did it have to cost her life?

The last one made me feel sick.

Suddenly, I heard voices. I looked up and listened. "Jay!" the voices called. They were looking for her.

I put Jay's body down and flew off to find the search party.

Fortunately, Will and Nico were the first ones I found.

Without hesitation, I instructed Wind to scoop the two of them up and follow me. They both shrieked until I sent a couple of bursts of snow in their faces. That shut them up once realization came over the two.

I wiped my tears away clumsily once we all got sent down. It took a while for Nico and Will to regain their composures, but once they saw Jay, they both froze.

I waved my staff clumsily. Blocky ice letters appeared for them to read. _She defeated the dragon… but it cost her own life._

Will knelt down beside her body, tears forming in his eyes. "No… no, no, no…" he shook his head. "It can't be… No…" he shivered and began patting his pockets for ambrosia. "Come on…"

Nico's mouth hung open. He seemed paler than usual. His eyes watered as he watched as Will helplessly tried force feeding Jay a square of ambrosia. He seemed to be able to tell she was dead. "Will…"

The two locked eyes for a moment. Then Will slowly nodded in understanding. Nico knelt beside Jay and stroked her hair. He closed his eyes and frowned, as if to say something was wrong. Well, of course there was something wrong. Jay was…

"That _stupid_ dragon… the _stupid_ gods…"

His tone made me glad we were on the same side. But what did he mean, 'stupid gods?' Weren't his insults supposed to be aimed at Pitch?

I swallowed nervously. "Uh… Nico?"

Nico didn't seem to notice me talking, but he turned to Will. "Should we take her back to camp?"

"Well-"

"Hoot." An owl called from a tree branch above our heads. All of us looked up. Me – maybe I flew up to the owl in desperation – Jay had once told me of how she had befriended an owl. I was hoping for a miracle. Anything really to save Jay.

I scooted onto the tree branch beside it. "Do you have any miracles?" my voice was raspy.

The owl looked at me, then turned its head to look at the moon. "Hoot."

I was no good with owl speak. "Huh?"

The owl flapped its majestic wings. "Hoot!" it flew off in the direction of the moon.

Will and Nico both looked confused. I touched down beside them and waved my staff to communicate with them. _I think we should follow it. Jay was friends with this owl._ I wrote.

The boys nodded solemnly – If not reluctantly. Will picked up Jay's limp form. I tried to ignore her head lolling to the side, and how limp her arms were. The blood…

I sobbed as I trailed behind the two boys. Nico had a protective arm around Will, which jogged my fresh memories of Jay. How much I wanted to be able to wrap my arm around her again…

No. Did I want to think about her? She was gone now, wasn't she? Completely gone…

But something didn't feel right. I glanced at Nico. He had been eerily silent the whole time – or at least more silent than usual. He had looked on the verge of tears, but he had also frowned when he stroked Jay's hair.

Jay had once told me that Nico could sense when people were dead. What if Nico sensed something was wrong?

"Nico," I called. Then I blushed, realizing I had made a mistake. I quickly grabbed my staff and formed some of those endearing icy letters. _Nico! Wait!_

The Italian stopped. "Uh, Will, you go ahead. Find that owl, OK?"

Will looked pretty convinced that Jay was gone, so of course he was still crying. "Y-yeah. Sure."

Nico kissed him hastily on the cheek and sent him off. I felt my mouth tugging into a smirk as I realized Nico was blushing.

 _Very cute,_ I wrote. _But Nico, do you sense anything… different about Jay's death?_

My heart was beating so fast I thought it'd burst. I was practically bursting with hope. I waited desperately for the Son of Hades' answer.

Nico nodded slowly. "Yeah. I can usually tell when souls reach the gate to the Underworld. Jay would have made it by now…"

He coughed into his fist. "But, I did feel her death." He frowned. "But the sensation disappeared almost instantly. It was as if… as if she got reborn…"

Suddenly, there was a loud yelp coming from the direction Will had went. Nico did a 180 and sped off. I flew after him.

Nico stopped at the beach. Will was there, covering his mouth as if to hold back a scream, pointing at the sky. His expression clearly said, 'HELP!' which was weird, since Will usually seemed in control. But… where was Jay? Will had been holding her moments before…

I looked up at the sky – and my heart nearly stopped.

The moon was shining so bright I had to squint. Jay's body was suspended a couple feet up in a lying down position.

I felt a wave of déjà vu as I realized what exactly was going on. One more puzzle piece had been found – now I knew why she wasn't actually dead.

Jay was being chosen by the Man in the Moon.

* * *

Jay's POV:

Darkness. That's all I can see. I can't hear, feel, taste, or smell anything. I can only see darkness.

My memories feel fresh – as if I had just relived all of them ten seconds ago. I should feel panicked – but I don't feel anything.

The darkness fades into light. My senses feel as if they have been reborn – everything is sharp. I'm alert – as if I had drunk ten cups of espresso.

Is this what it's like to be dead?

 _You're not dead anymore,_ a voice said. _You are Jay Swift of the Olympians and of the Guardians. You have been chosen by the Man in the Moon to restore balance._

I opened my eyes.

* * *

Jack's POV:

Nico and Will looked scared. Nico's hand was at his sword belt. "Jack-"

Without hesitation, I wrote, _Stand down. She's being chosen._

Nico looked thunderstruck. Will looked just as confused. "Nico?" he whispered. "Did I miss something?"

The two boys began whispering. I didn't pay any attention to them.

 _Jay was being chosen._

 _'Leave her, you have found your fate, she must find hers.'_ the nymph had said. Was this what she had meant? Jay's fate was to become a spirit like me?

My heart fluttered at the thought. It occurred to me that if she was to become a spirit, she would be immortal, like me. And she'd stay the same age… like me.

After a few long moments, Jay's form was slowly lowered to the ground. The moon's rays slowly dimmed to their normal brightness.

I ran towards her.

She was glowing. I scooped her up in my arms. "Jay?"

I counted under my breath up to ten. Then, ever so slowly, her eyes fluttered open. "Hey Jack."

Without a second thought, I pulled her into a kiss. She froze for a bit before grabbing the sides of my face and kissing back gently. Something inside of me turned to mush. When we pulled away, her face was flushed.

I was about to swoop in for another kiss when I heard an "Ahem,", somewhere behind us. I pulled Jay up and we faced Will and Nico, who were looking at the two of us in amazement. Wait…

"Guys!" Jay shouted, running towards them and giving them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank the gods," Will cried. "Don't you dare pull stunts on us like that ever again, you got that?"

Jay laughed. Her laugh sounded livelier than it used to be.

"Wait…" I trailed off and looked at Jay. "They shouldn't be able to see you. You're a spirit now…"

Nico looked at me. "She's a spirit? Whoa, she turned into whatever you are?"

I froze and looked at Nico. "Y-you can see me?" I was practically trembling with excitement. My emotions had switched from heartbroken to completely elated in one night.

Nico nodded. "Maybe we just wanted to believe Jay would come back so bad…"

He trailed off, and the four of us noticed a searing hot light in the sky. I scrambled back. "Uh, last I remember, that wasn't part of the process." The light only seemed to be getting bigger, and brighter.

But Nico and Will were both grinning. "It's the gods!"

Ok, one god actually. A middle aged man in a chariot with a caduceus descended from the heavens and landed in front of us.

Wow. This is one weird night.

* * *

Jay's POV:

At this point, there are so many things I want to say, but everything seems to happen too fast. I'm dead. Ten seconds later I'm reborn as a spirit. Then about a minute later, a god comes along.

Confusing? Yup. Abrupt? Sorry 'bout that. Just retelling it the way it happened.

The god hops out of his golden chariot. His staff is really familiar. I recognize it as the caduceus – that thing that kinda looked like the doctor sign. Two living snakes were wrapped around it.

Nico and Will bowed to him. "Lord Hermes," says Nico. I glance at them then at Jack before bowing down too.

Hermes smiles. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Nico di Angelo; Will Solace." He smirks, as if he knows something we don't. It dawns on me that he's the father of Connor and Travis.

Then he turns to Jack and I. He looks thoughtful, and I imagine him looking at us with X-ray vision. That makes me cringe. I wait for him to say something, but he doesn't, which is kinda creepy.

"Well! You four! Hop into the chariot, so you can explain your story to the gods."

"Wait – what?" Jack asks.

Hermes chuckles. "Jokul Frosti-"

"I'm Jack Frost! And you're Greek, not Norse, so don't-"

Hermes glares at him, and Jack immediately shuts up. I recalled a story Nico had once told me about how Triptolemus (some minor god) had turned him into a corn plant. That worried me, so I shot Jack a warning glance. He nodded.

Hermes ushered the four of us into the chariot. "Come on now, the council is waiting," he'd mutter.

The four of us piled into the back seat. Hermes sat up front, holding the reins – which were attached to four incredible looking Pegasi.

"Hyah!" Hermes shouted. The Pegasi shot off, whinnying in excitement. I was blasted with gusts of wind to the face. My hair whipped around – but Jack held it down for me because he said hair doesn't taste good.

Will saw the appalled look on me and Jacks' faces, and he laughed. "What's wrong?"

Jack shook his head. "Are we actually going to Olympus?"

Even Hermes laughed. He blushed.

"We are, Jack. Apparently," I mumbled. "This day is getting crazier."

"How did you die?"

I blushed. "Uh, poison mishap."

"What?!"

"I'll explain later."

Jack let out an exasperated sigh, but it died halfway in his throat when he realized the clouds were opening up.

We were on Olympus.

"Holy-"

"Hera," I finished for Jack.

The whole place reminded me of pictures I had seen of Greece – those huge marble columns holding up temples; the ridiculously incredible statues of gods; the flowering, lush gardens; the terraces – it was breathtaking.

Will, who was sitting on my left, elbowed me. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Shut up. How are you not fangirling?"

Nico, who was on Will's left, smirked. "We've been here before, for your information."

"But you're not amazed. Not in one bit?" asked Jack (who was on my right).

"Amazed, obviously. But-"

"Arriving at the council of the gods in one minute," Hermes called. The pegasi were slowing down and descending.

Will paled slightly. "Oh man. I'm gonna see dad."

"You've never met Apollo?" Jack and I chorused.

The blond nodded. "Not once in real life."

We all stayed silent after that. Nervousness settled over all of us as we realized we were going to meet the gods. _The gods._

That seemed scarier than the dragon. I immediately found Jack's pale hand holding mine. He must have been nervous too. I laced my fingers into his.

The chariot slowed as it landed on the polished marble floor. We all hopped out of the chariot as Hermes removed the bridles from the pegasi. Once that was done, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed them each a couple of sugar cubes. Then the four pegasi flew off.

Hermes tickled one of his snakes before walking towards two golden double doors that were as tall as Jack stacked up on himself ten times. I gulped. Even Nico looked like he was trying to hide the fact that he was steeling his nerves.

The god looked back at us. "Well? C'mon now, demigods; spirits. Come meet the council."

The huge doors opened without a creak.

We entered.

I wasn't sure why… but the gods seemed… normal.

Ok, that sounded kind of stupid. If it was any indication, Hermes had looked normal. Like a middle aged man. But these gods – and goddesses – looked normal.

A chill looking seventeen year old boy with a perfect tan, perfect teeth, and familiar blond hair. Will's dad, Apollo.

A brooding man in a long, dark, robe – none other than Hades, Nico's dad.

A handsome, serious-looking man with a just as serious, regal-looking wife – Zeus and Hera.

Poseidon. A man with Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt – I recognized his wind swept hair as something Percy Jackson had inherited from him.

And seven other gods, lounging in their chairs, which semi-circled around a hearth. An adorable twelve year old girl sat in the flames, smiling at all of us. I waved at her, unsure of what else to do. Her smile widened.

Lord Apollo noticed us first. "Heroes!" his voice should have been small, but it boomed and echoed through the room. He laid eyes on Will, who smiled meekly. "Son."

"F-father." Will replied. Apollo smiled.

Zeus coughed, ruining the moment. "The council, has begun. Come forward, you four."

Will, Nico, Jack and I shuffled towards the middle of the room awkwardly. Then we all took a hesitant bow.

"Rise, demigods," called a woman that looked like the campers of the Athena cabin – so, surprise, I figured she was Athena. "This meeting is happening to discuss the matters, of, well the troubles we have been facing."

All eyes were on us. "Well?" asked Athena. "Is one of you going to explain?"

I was waiting for Will or Nico to explain, but the two boys stepped back. Jack shook his head. "I honestly have no idea what was going on half the time," he explained.

That left only one candidate for the job: Me.

Shoot.

I was nervous. I was standing in front of twelve, almighty, powerful beings – how was I supposed to be calm? Jack must have sensed my nervousness because he grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze. Aphrodite squealed in delight. He blushed, but he didn't let go. Sweet.

"So…" I started from the start, explaining how I had come to Camp Half-Blood. Jack added in the part of how he came, sent by the Guardians to, 'find his fate.' Then I talked about Pitch, and how we figured out he was going to destroy Camp Half-Blood because the gods had meddled.

Only then was I interrupted.

"What do you mean, the gods have meddled?" asked Apollo.

His good looks were almost enough to beat Jack, but I somehow managed to say, "He was put in Tartarus for his actions. Well, he's a jerk, and _I'm_ ok with it…"

Jack suddenly jumped up. "Wait!" all eyes were on him. "He was put in Tartarus. The Guardians told me that we – they – us, whatever – try to stay out of the way of the Gods. It's kind of because we don't wanna get into fights and stuff. And-"

Suddenly, a portal opened up in the middle of the throne room and the other four Guardians tumbled out.

Don't believe me? Really. I'm telling the truth. Fight me.

Every god, goddess, demigod, nymph, Guardian, and spirit froze. The room was frozen.

Jack was the first to move. He ran over and gave them all hugs. "Guys! Oh my gods, it's been so-"

"YOU DARE INTERRUPT AN OLYMPIAN COUNCIL?" Zeus' voice boomed through the room, making Jack jump about five feet in the air. He scrambled over to my side.

"S-sorry-"

North – Santa Claus, whatever – jumped up to meet Zeus. "Pleasure to meet you, King of Skies. I am North." He did a quick bow before sticking his hand out for Zeus to shake.

Now, I had no idea what to expect. My nerves felt frayed. My brain was processing too much all at once. I thought I'd be able to handle it. _These gods are the parents of your fellow campers! You got this!_ I was psyched for that, but Guardians? No way Jose.

I'll say it: I passed out.

Yes, me, the brave and amazing girl who totally didn't ever doubt her well-being and worth, passed out in front of all these people.

OK yeah. It was really embarrassing.

* * *

When I came to, everything was quieter. I sat up slowly, and realized it was just Will, Neeks, Jack and I in a court yard. The three boys were in a quiet conversation until I tapped Jack on the shoulder. "What happened with the Olympians and the Guardians?"

Jack shook his head. "They sent the four of us out here while they sorted out some issues. Things quieted down when you… uh, passed out, but…" he trailed off. "I'm not quite sure if anything good is happening."

Will frowned. "Did the gods only summon us here so we could explain?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't know. But why did the Guardians randomly come along?" the two looked at Jack and I. "Do you guys have any explanations?"

Jack spoke up. "Well, when I was, you know, looking for Jay, some nymph said something like, 'you must restore balance! Let her find her fate!' or something. I think it has something to do with Pitch being thrown into Tartarus. I mean, the gods' world and the Guardians' world aren't supposed to mix. But then, Pitch was thrown in the pit. By a god. Which means-"

"Which means the balance was broken." Finished Nico, nodding thoughtfully. "The gods had meddled with Pitch – who was, technically, part of the Guardians' world."

"So then Pitch – when he escaped, let a dragon loose in camp, knowing that if the camp was destroyed, the gods would crumble – just to seek revenge." Added Will. "It's making sense now." He coughed. "Kind of."

"Then there was a prophecy issued by the Fates," I said. "About me and Jack, our stupid love story, and how I defeated the dragon."

Jack looked at me. "Our love story isn't stupid."

"Wow. You don't even give me thanks for destroying the dragon!"

"Guys!" Nico interrupted. "Back to piecing this all together. Jay, how exactly did you defeat that dragon?"

"Poison." I dug into my pockets, hoping the little vial was still there. I pulled it out and tossed it to Nico. "Turns out, poison can kill dragons. Me and Oothay – my owl friend, found the poison somewhere on the beach. Then I got that crystal ball Ash gave me. I smashed the ball to get the dragons attention, put some poison down its throat, then BAM! Dragon's dying in agony."

Jack frowned. "And, how exactly did you die?"

I blushed. "Dragon clawed open my stomach while it was dying." I winced. "That really hurt."

Will's eyes widened. "Holy Hera! No wonder you were chosen by the Man in the Moon – that was some heroic stuff!"

My blush deepened. "Yeah, well-"

"DEMIGODS!" a voice boomed. We turned around to see the doors to the throne room were open. Instead of seeing a lot of blood on the floor and a couple of massacred Guardians – we saw gods, goddesses, Guardians, nymphs, and satyrs, dancing to loud familiar music.

We saw a party.

WAIT WHAT?

The voice had belonged to North. He ushered us all in. "Come join party, friends! We have made peace! Merry Christmas!"

I blinked. The others looked just as dumbstruck. Here we were, expecting a lot of bloodshed, but instead, we're in the middle of a Christmas party?

Jack turned to North. "Wha- no, how did this all happen?"

North chuckled, and it struck me that I was meeting Santa Claus. And Santa Claus was Russian. "The girl! She has restored the balance!" he beamed at me. "You, Jay, are a very special girl! A demigod, turned into a spirit – making a journey from one world to another!"

Nico tilted his head in confusion. "But Jack was also once a demigod. What's so special about Jay?"

North shook his head. "Jack was never demigod – his scent just attracted monsters because they knew he was going to become very powerful."

Jack didn't say anything. North continued with his story. "So Jay is the thing that binds our two worlds together now – she is the peace offering; the bridge."

Jack smirked. "So I'm dating a bridge?" I blushed and swatted his arm. North raised his eyebrows at Jack, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"Come join the party, you four," North finished. "All of you are guests of honour." He bowed, then retreated to the group of people on the dance floor.

Nico shook his head. "Guests of honour? Please." He glanced at Will. "Wanna sit somewhere else, preferably, alone?"

Will rolled his eyes but slipped his hand into Nico's. "You guys coming?" he asked.

Jack shook his head. "Nah. I owe Jay a couple dances."

"OK then." The two boys walked off, hand in hand. I could already imagine Aphrodite fangirling.

Jack turned to me and smiled. "Dance with me?"

"I… don't dance."

He grabbed my hand. "Please. That's an overused, cliché, stupid excuse."

He guided me to the dance floor. My legs felt wobbly, and I was scared I'd pass out again.

I glanced at the people (I am calling them people, since Guardians, gods, goddesses and the likes are too much to type) dancing around us and copied what the girls were doing. I snaked my hands around Jack's neck, cursing the gods in my head for having to make it a slow dance.

I was conscious of the fact that Jack's hands were around my waist. "Chill, Princess. I've got you."

I blushed, and looked at our feet. My shoes brushed his toes. If I stepped on him-

"Just follow my lead," Jack's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up into his eyes, trying to gather up my confidence. He stepped to the left – and I followed. Then to the right. Left again. He smiled his beautiful smile; bending over and pressing his lips to mine for a brief moment.

"So," he began. "Since we're both dead – or at least, we're both immortal, I realized that we won't age. You won't age. You'll stay 17, and I'll stay… well, 318, but I still look like I'm 18, and-"

I smirked. "Your point, exactly? Other than the fact that I'm dating a 318 year old guy?"

"Well, we can spend the rest of eternity together. Like this. I don't have to worry about you aging, or dying." He smirked. "And let's just go with the fact that, since I look 18, I am 18."

We both laughed.

"Well, then, 18 year old Jack. What would it take to get you to kiss your girlfriend?"

* * *

 ** _YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA I FINALLY FINISHED THIS GOSH DARN CHAPTER WOOT WOOT_**

 **If you didn't get why Pitch is trying to destroy the gods, here:**

 **The gods noticed Pitch's crimes (everything he did in the RotG movie) and put him in Tartarus for his actions. What the gods didn't know was that Pitch was part of the Guardians' world, and those two worlds aren't exactly supposed to mix. Pitch then believes that the gods had destroyed whatever balance had been established between the two worlds, and he decides to get back at them for it, thus the dragon in Camp Half-Blood.**

 ** _If you didn't get how Jay defeated the dragon, read this:_**

 **Before Ash left camp, she gave Jay a gray crystal ball, which actually belongs to the dragon. Jay and Oothay find a little glass vial on the beach, which Jay finds out, is poison. Jay comes up with the ridiculous plan of throwing the poison at the dragon, and uses the crystal ball by smashing it to pieces to get the dragon's attention.**

 ** _Over here if you didn't get how defeating the dragon defeated Pitch too:_**

 **The dragon is actually a figment of Pitch's soul – the darkest things in there. Yes, this wasn't mentioned in the story, and that's because, well, how could Jay or Jack or anybody figure that out? Anyways, the dragon is a part of his soul, the darkest part, which, to Pitch is pretty much his whole essence. So, in a way, there life sources are connected.**

 **Wow, I really hope you get all that. I came up with this story idea in grade 5 (two years ago… holy cow…), so obviously, it's a little whack. Well, anyways, READ THE EPILOGUE IF YOU WANT SOME JAY AND JACK CUTENESS KIND OF.**


	32. Epilogue!

Epilogue:

"Oh my gods!" Jay yells. "This is so cool!"

Jack grins. "A tour of Santa's workshop – duh it's cool! Am I an awesome present giver or what?"

Jay laughs. The ceremony appointing her the messenger of the gods and Guardians had left her feeling free. She was to stay with the Guardians for most of the time – to stay with Jack, obviously – so the gods had given her a few gifts.

The satchel from Aphrodite had been really cool. It was of some brown fabric, with cool zippered pockets for everything she needed to deliver messages. Hephaestus had enchanted her bag to make it indestructible – also very cool.

Zeus had given her the ability to fly. Apollo had removed her of her former powers – for which she had been grateful for beyond relief.

Her favourite gift was from Athena, who had given her Oothay. The owl would be her companion – sort of like how Jack had Baby Tooth. The gift had nearly brought Jay to tears.

Jay had let Sandy play with Oothay so that Jack could give her the tour of the workshop.

"And, plus," Jack adds, "You haven't even seen the best part!"

Jay can only tilt her head in confusion as she floats after Jack. Jack leads her past a room with a big globe in the middle and through a colourful, quiet hallway. He stops at the end of it and gestures to a door. "Ta-da!"

Jay shoots Jack an inquiring look before opening the door.

"Since you were gonna be staying with the Guardians, I figured you'd need a place to sleep." Jack started. "So, I got you an extra bed, and, well, here it is! Welcome, roommate!"

The room had that cozy feeling to it, even though it was as spacious as Jay's former cabin in Camp Half-Blood. Two beds were up against the back wall – one on the right, one on the left. A small trunk was placed at the foot of each bed. Christmas lights lined the walls, casting a colourful glow all over the place. A small closet was on the opposite side of the room.

"Do you like it?" Jack asks.

Jay nods. "Yeah! Thanks!" she gives him a hug, realizing that she'd been wearing his sweatshirt this whole time. "Oh… I should give this back."

They break from the hug. "You don't-

Jay slips out of the sweatshirt and tosses it to him. "It doesn't have any more blood on it – it got cleaned on Olympus."

Jack shakes his head. "You can keep it."

"Nah, I'm more into cloaks." She jokes, recalling the time when they had the same argument before.

Jack laughs. "Fine. Ok. Whatever. I'll give you a cloak."

"Wait-"

Jack begins to rummage through his closet. He pulls out a brown cloak. "This used to be mine. But I took the sweatshirt in favour of the cloak." He gives it to Jay. "Keep it."

Jay's eyes widen. "Jack, you don't have to-"

Jack wraps the cloak around Jay's shoulders, tying the strings tight enough for it not to fall off. "See? You look very cute."

Jay crosses her arms. "I'm not cute!"

"You're lying to yourself," Jack teases.

Jay stamps her foot on the ground. "I am _not_ cute!"

Jack holds up his hands in surrender. "Fine." He wraps an arm around her shoulders. "You're not cute."

Jay smirks in triumph.

"You're adorable."

"Oh I'll get you for that one."

"And that'd be adorable."

"OK. I guess I'm not giving you your Christmas present!" Jay teases.

Jack gasps jokingly. "You wouldn't!"

Jay rolls her eyes and flops onto her bed. "Don't underestimate me."

Jack flops onto the bed beside her. "OK! I give up! You're not cute! Can I have my present?"

Jay laughs. "You got me." She sticks a hand into her new satchel and rummages for something. "So… when we were dancing, on Olympus… you said something about, staying like 'this' forever."

"Yeah." Jack continues. "Even though we fought, and you died, and you hated me at first… wow, that sounds really low, but I was enjoying so much of that."

Jay laughs, and hands him a carefully wrapped present box. "I don't know if you'll like it, but… well, I got Nico to contribute a little bit to it already…"

Jack tears open the present. It's one of those voice recorder things, complete with a couple of mix tapes.

"Recording device things," Jay explains. "I was thinking, we could record our whole Camp Half-Blood adventure, just as a little memory keeper."

Jack is silent as he turns the device around in his hand. Finally, he says, "So when are we going to start recording?"

The two make themselves comfortable on the bed; both leaning against the wall, Jay's head resting on Jack's shoulder. Jay switches the recorder on, and begins to speak.

"Chapter one, Jay's POV…"

* * *

 **OK. Wanna know something? Now, this story, is OFFICIALLY OVER!**

 **YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HSVJBDFIDHFUJENGVUMHSOUINFEUNFUMFROUCNE!**

 **Finally, I've pulled in this last update. I feel happy that I gave Jay and Jack a happy ending. And Will and Nico. If I gave any of the main characters a sad ending, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. DON'T BLAME ME, I GREW UP WATCHING DISNEY CHANNEL. They have no shortage of happy endings to their DCOM's, and their shows. It's beautiful.**

 **I'd like to thank all you people who have reviewed, followed, and favourited. This story was my first actual multi-chapter story, so of course, I feel pretty happy. I mean, I actually got reviews! YAY!**

 **I don't regret making that the last part of the story, since if I added more chapters, they'd get even worse than these ones…**

 **If you wanna know what other stories I have in mind, well… there's this Leo Valdez x OC I've been thinking about since… also grade five… and I'm going to start writing it soon. I'm also planning on doing a Caleo five part AU where the two love birds are in college… Stay in tune for those stories, which can be found on my profile, along with a couple other oneshots and stuff…**

 ***takes deep breath***

 **OK, I guess that's all I have to say.**

 ***sniffs dramatically and dabs at eyes***

 **I'm going to miss this story.**

 ***takes another deep breath***

 **Well, last words. Here we go…**

 **Again, thanks to everybody who has supported me in this crazy story. You guys are amazing, and I'll have you know that whenever I get a review I do a little dance inside my head. Well, this is it.**

 **This is the end, of "He of Frost and She of Sun."**


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